As far as Opening Batsmen role is concerned, one choice is unanimous and the same choice is true for the Captain of the Team as well. He is South-African captain and currently the most reliable opening batsman Graeme Smith.
To Give Smith company at the top of the order has many choices. Hayden had a huge struggling year and although Strauss was good enough, the choice needs to go between, either of the Indian Pair (Sehwag and/or Gautam Gambhir). Sehwag and Gambhir would make it in the squad and selection would depend upon the team composition.
Sehwag would be the first choice, considering he is right hander and to continue right and left combination with Smith. However, Sehwag is also more of a dasher and if team is going with only 5 Batsman, it makes sense to go with Gambhir at the top of the order.
In the Upper Middle-Order, one choice which would definitely make it is Kevin Pietersen. Choice of K.P. to bat at number 3 or number 4 depends upon the selection of other two members. If Hashim Amla is to be selected, then K.P. could go at number 4 but if Sachin Tendulkar gets the green light, K.P. needs to bat at number 3. Amla, Pietersen and Tendulkar would make the 3 and 4 with one of them sit out.
In Lower-Middle Order, the fight would be between, Chanderpaul who had an average of over 100 for 9 test matches. De Villers with his ability to take magnificent catches on the field gives the all round ability. If the team is required to select a genuine all rounder then Symonds might get a call. Since Kallis struggled through out the year and Bravo another all rounder is still struggling with injury, it would be fair to consider Daniel Vettori.
As far as wicket keeper’s choice is concerned, with his strong batting and leadership quality, M.S.Dhoni virtually qualifies himself before anyone in the team does.
Spin Department would have touch choices to consider. Vettori, if can not make it as All rounder, he surely deserves the top spot in the Spin Department. It is still early to consider Mendis since he played only 3 home test matches to compare him with Murlitharan and Harbhajan Singh out of which one of them should be the partner of Vettori.
Fast Bowling Department would have handful of left arm bowlers. Mitchel Johnson, Sidebottom and Zaheer Khan are the top 3 left armers and all three of them are deserving candidate. Since Zaheer was injured in the top half of the year and Sidebottom on the bottom, M.Johnson from Australia can seal the spot.
Since Brett Lee struggled in the last 6 months of the calendar year. Either of David Steyn or Ntini should be able to make it to the Top 11. Although it is too early to put Ishant Sharma in the top rank, like Mendis he also was top performer.
Squad :
Sehwag, Smith (Gambhir), Pietersen , Tendulkar (Amla), Chanderpaul ( Devillers), Symonds , Dhoni (Boucher), Vettori (Harbhajan Singh), Steyn , M.Johnson, Ntini (Zaheer, Sidebottom, I.Sharma, )
Trivia: Pakistan did not play a single test match in the entire year of 2008.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
2008 Bollywood Music
Male Playback Singing:
Number 5: Sukhwinder Singh (Haule Haule Ho Jayega Pyar from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)
Number 4: KK (Khuda Jane from Bachana E Haseeno)
Number 3: Rashid Ali (Kabhi Kabhi Aditi from Jane Tu Ya Jane Na)
Number 2: Atif Aslam (Pehli Nazar Mein Aisa Jadoo...Race)
Number 1: Udit Narayan (Falak Tak Chal...TASHAN)
Female Playback Singing:
Number 5: Shreya Ghosal (Teri Ore....Singh is King)
Number 4: Suzanne D'Mello (Hey Ya....Kidnap)
Number 3: Monali Thakur (Jara Jara Kiss Me ...Race)
Number 2: Shreya Ghosal (Tuj Mein Rab Dikhta Hai...Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)
Number 1: Sunidhi Chauhan (Chaliya ....TASHAN)
Number 5: Sukhwinder Singh (Haule Haule Ho Jayega Pyar from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)
Number 4: KK (Khuda Jane from Bachana E Haseeno)
Number 3: Rashid Ali (Kabhi Kabhi Aditi from Jane Tu Ya Jane Na)
Number 2: Atif Aslam (Pehli Nazar Mein Aisa Jadoo...Race)
Number 1: Udit Narayan (Falak Tak Chal...TASHAN)
Female Playback Singing:
Number 5: Shreya Ghosal (Teri Ore....Singh is King)
Number 4: Suzanne D'Mello (Hey Ya....Kidnap)
Number 3: Monali Thakur (Jara Jara Kiss Me ...Race)
Number 2: Shreya Ghosal (Tuj Mein Rab Dikhta Hai...Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)
Number 1: Sunidhi Chauhan (Chaliya ....TASHAN)
Bollywood Movies 2001 onwards
2007 : (Best in Bollywoood Year)
Taare Zameen Par, Om Shanti Om, Chak De India, Guru, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Life in a Metro, Jab We Met, Salaam e Ishq , Namastey London,Cheeni Kum,
2006:
Dhoom 2, Lage Raho , Rang De Basanti, Omkara, MalaMaal Weekly,Dor,
2005: (Worst Year) Black, Sarkar,
2004:
Dhoom, Lakshya, Khakee, Swades, Yuva, Ab Tak Chappan, Ek Haseena Thi,
2003: Munna bhai MBBS, Hungama, Gangaajal, Ishq Vishq,
2002: Aankhen, Saathiya, Company,
2001: Lagaan, K3G, DCH, Ajnabee..
I hate to say, but I do not see many movies from 2008 could make it in my fav. list. I admit, I still have to see many films, including Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Ghajini, Dostana etc ...but I am disappointed with Sarkar Raj,Jodha Akbar and Singh is King and perhaps, only movie which could make it to top list would be RACE (so far...)
Taare Zameen Par, Om Shanti Om, Chak De India, Guru, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Life in a Metro, Jab We Met, Salaam e Ishq , Namastey London,Cheeni Kum,
2006:
Dhoom 2, Lage Raho , Rang De Basanti, Omkara, MalaMaal Weekly,Dor,
2005: (Worst Year) Black, Sarkar,
2004:
Dhoom, Lakshya, Khakee, Swades, Yuva, Ab Tak Chappan, Ek Haseena Thi,
2003: Munna bhai MBBS, Hungama, Gangaajal, Ishq Vishq,
2002: Aankhen, Saathiya, Company,
2001: Lagaan, K3G, DCH, Ajnabee..
I hate to say, but I do not see many movies from 2008 could make it in my fav. list. I admit, I still have to see many films, including Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Ghajini, Dostana etc ...but I am disappointed with Sarkar Raj,Jodha Akbar and Singh is King and perhaps, only movie which could make it to top list would be RACE (so far...)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
NFL Fantasy Finale
This is the first time I attempted to sign up for a fantasy league in NFL. My season ended on the very first day of the NFL Season. Tom Brady got injured and had a season ending surgery and all hopes of Patriots having a good season were almost over. Tom Brady was also my first draft pick and my hopes were “almost” over.
I did not even bothered to look into the scores every week and couldn’t realize that I had 4 losses in the first 4 weeks. Suddenly, this Kurt Warner guy started me keeping in the game. I kept changing the team each week and suddenly I had a winning streak of 6 games and had my play-off hopes alive.
I won the play-offs, and then this week was the final week of the season for fantasy league. Kurt Warner who was responsible for keeping me in the league was a doubtful pick for this week. Simply because, Cardinals were playing Patriots and Patriots has to win the game to go to the Playoffs. Patriots are my favorite team and Kurt Warner is my favorite player this season simply because, he kept me in the league. So, I did not change Kurt Warner with Chad Pennington (BAD MOVE for this Week).
I had the best defensive units in the league, STEELERS and TITANS. I kept changing them every week depending upon which one they are playing against and every week they gave me more than 15 points. In fact, my defensive unit was my high scoring player.
Guess What, It is Final Week, and Steelers are playing against Titans. So, Which one to pick? Tough Choice, It’s like mother picking out of their two children. Finally, I picked Steelers because they are rated number 1 defensive team, and guess what they scored only 1 Point in the game (same score as of Kurt Warner), and Titans scored 23. (another BAD MOVE for this Week)
I also had two very good kickers in the team who on an average gave me minimum of 8 points every time I selected them. R. Longwell from Vikings and Carney from Giants. I picked Longwell for this week (Another bad move for this week).
I had 4 wide receivers and had to pick 3 out of 4. I had Bowe, Evans and L.Moore throughtout the season except few final games. I had M.Muhammad from Carolina panthers on the bench and in last 6 days, I just could not decide which one out of first three I need to drop to put M.Muhammad in. Unfortunately, I kept Muhammad on the bench for the finale and this was one more bad move. Muhsin Muhammad scored 8 points only but that is more than total of 6 points scored by three of my wide receivers (Bowe, Evans and Moore).
Now, Before I say, whether I won the game or not, let me give the name of the players my Opposite Team has. Opposite Team has best quarterback of NFL, Tony Romo. He scored 18 points as opposed to my Kurt Warner who scored only 1.
Opposite team has defensive unit of Vikings which scored 8 points as opposed to Steelers that scored only 1 point for me.
Opposite team has running back of T.Jones (number 1 in this season) and Kevin Smith who together scored 25 points.
Opposite Team had score of 56 Points and I had 16 points and only two players to play the game. Difference of 40 Points.
But the Running back which I had was (Steve Slaton) who scored 9 points and gave me hope. Like we all do, when the chips are down is go for the Hope and Pray. After all this was fantasy league and I fantasias that only one player that I have left, my running back will score some 4 touchdown (highly unlikely).
That player before I give the name out was going to play against the best defensive team, New York Giants. It is highly unlikely that someone would score 4 touchdowns against Giants defense. I would say, not even the whole team could score 4 touchdowns against Giants but this one player for me, scored 3 touchdowns in the first half against NY Giants. Player name, Ladies and Gentleman is : DeAngelo Williams.
DeAngelo Williams scored 34 points and gave me most unlikely victory and chance to win for a Super Bowl Tickets.
I did not even bothered to look into the scores every week and couldn’t realize that I had 4 losses in the first 4 weeks. Suddenly, this Kurt Warner guy started me keeping in the game. I kept changing the team each week and suddenly I had a winning streak of 6 games and had my play-off hopes alive.
I won the play-offs, and then this week was the final week of the season for fantasy league. Kurt Warner who was responsible for keeping me in the league was a doubtful pick for this week. Simply because, Cardinals were playing Patriots and Patriots has to win the game to go to the Playoffs. Patriots are my favorite team and Kurt Warner is my favorite player this season simply because, he kept me in the league. So, I did not change Kurt Warner with Chad Pennington (BAD MOVE for this Week).
I had the best defensive units in the league, STEELERS and TITANS. I kept changing them every week depending upon which one they are playing against and every week they gave me more than 15 points. In fact, my defensive unit was my high scoring player.
Guess What, It is Final Week, and Steelers are playing against Titans. So, Which one to pick? Tough Choice, It’s like mother picking out of their two children. Finally, I picked Steelers because they are rated number 1 defensive team, and guess what they scored only 1 Point in the game (same score as of Kurt Warner), and Titans scored 23. (another BAD MOVE for this Week)
I also had two very good kickers in the team who on an average gave me minimum of 8 points every time I selected them. R. Longwell from Vikings and Carney from Giants. I picked Longwell for this week (Another bad move for this week).
I had 4 wide receivers and had to pick 3 out of 4. I had Bowe, Evans and L.Moore throughtout the season except few final games. I had M.Muhammad from Carolina panthers on the bench and in last 6 days, I just could not decide which one out of first three I need to drop to put M.Muhammad in. Unfortunately, I kept Muhammad on the bench for the finale and this was one more bad move. Muhsin Muhammad scored 8 points only but that is more than total of 6 points scored by three of my wide receivers (Bowe, Evans and Moore).
Now, Before I say, whether I won the game or not, let me give the name of the players my Opposite Team has. Opposite Team has best quarterback of NFL, Tony Romo. He scored 18 points as opposed to my Kurt Warner who scored only 1.
Opposite team has defensive unit of Vikings which scored 8 points as opposed to Steelers that scored only 1 point for me.
Opposite team has running back of T.Jones (number 1 in this season) and Kevin Smith who together scored 25 points.
Opposite Team had score of 56 Points and I had 16 points and only two players to play the game. Difference of 40 Points.
But the Running back which I had was (Steve Slaton) who scored 9 points and gave me hope. Like we all do, when the chips are down is go for the Hope and Pray. After all this was fantasy league and I fantasias that only one player that I have left, my running back will score some 4 touchdown (highly unlikely).
That player before I give the name out was going to play against the best defensive team, New York Giants. It is highly unlikely that someone would score 4 touchdowns against Giants defense. I would say, not even the whole team could score 4 touchdowns against Giants but this one player for me, scored 3 touchdowns in the first half against NY Giants. Player name, Ladies and Gentleman is : DeAngelo Williams.
DeAngelo Williams scored 34 points and gave me most unlikely victory and chance to win for a Super Bowl Tickets.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Oh No !!! Obama !!!
Barack Obama won the election because ...
He is a Democratic Nominee...(30% of the Votes just comes because you are Democrate, same other 30% Goes to Republican nominee)
He is NOT REPUBLICAN (10% of Votes Remember, Bush is Republican :) People were so frustrated with Bush Administration that they would have Voted for anyone with Democratic Ticket)
He is YOUNG Nominee compared to his Opposite Leader (3% of Voters, mostly young people voted for Obama)
He is African-American (3% of people who did not even voted anytime in their life, went out to vote because, of this)
He is a Smart Politician who BUY OUT CNN (3% of Voters) (only known authentic news channel that people of america follows)
He is a Shrewd Politician who THREW money in Florida to Win some necessary 5 to 10 of Votes to swing the state from RED to Blue. (1% of over-all votes)
Only 2-3% of Voters think, that He is actually smarters than what he looks and He could actually be a good President..
It is Amazing, How Illusion can ruin your dream and 2009 could be one of those year..........where those 2-3% people who voted for Obama thinking, He is INTELLIGENT,Strong, Clever etc. etc...would wake up and see the reality...
He is a Democratic Nominee...(30% of the Votes just comes because you are Democrate, same other 30% Goes to Republican nominee)
He is NOT REPUBLICAN (10% of Votes Remember, Bush is Republican :) People were so frustrated with Bush Administration that they would have Voted for anyone with Democratic Ticket)
He is YOUNG Nominee compared to his Opposite Leader (3% of Voters, mostly young people voted for Obama)
He is African-American (3% of people who did not even voted anytime in their life, went out to vote because, of this)
He is a Smart Politician who BUY OUT CNN (3% of Voters) (only known authentic news channel that people of america follows)
He is a Shrewd Politician who THREW money in Florida to Win some necessary 5 to 10 of Votes to swing the state from RED to Blue. (1% of over-all votes)
Only 2-3% of Voters think, that He is actually smarters than what he looks and He could actually be a good President..
It is Amazing, How Illusion can ruin your dream and 2009 could be one of those year..........where those 2-3% people who voted for Obama thinking, He is INTELLIGENT,Strong, Clever etc. etc...would wake up and see the reality...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ganguly's Replacement
I feel, Suresh Raina should be Ganguly's Replacement in the Test Squad but ongoing One-Day Series will determine whether it is Raina or Yuvraj or Kaif or S.Badrinath or Rohit Sharma or M.Vijay, who is taking his place.
My Thoughts on this can be viewed @ following youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYsfuuJzOAY
My Thoughts on this can be viewed @ following youtube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYsfuuJzOAY
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Indian Idol 4(Top 14)
Finally, We have Top 14 in Indian Idol season 4. Following are the list of contestants listed alphabetically.
1)Ananya Mishra
2)Bhavya Pandit
3)Kapil Thapa
4)Kuldeep Singh
5)Mohit Lalwani
6)Priyanka Negi
7)Prasenjit Kosambi
8)Rajdeep Chatterjee
9)Shini Kalvint
10)Sourabhee
11)Tulika Ganguly
12)Bhanu Pratap
13)Remo Ghosh
14)Torsha Sarkar
Following is the Order of my preference: (This order includes their singing ability, and their looks and their personality)
1)Rajdeep Chatterjee (I could relate to him, He sings great, looks good, smile's great, personality matches with one of my best friend, Ashutosh, Just Complete Package)
2)Bhavya Pandit (Bombaite, Sweet Singer, Sing Old Songs too)
3)Prasenjit Kosambi (Awesome Singer, Good Human Being)
4)Torsha Sarkar (Overall package, so far have sung non-challenging songs)
5)Sourabhee (Good Looks, Mix it up with Good Singing)
6)Tulika Ganguly (Good Looking)
7)Shini Kalvint (Fighter)
8)Kapil Thapa (Honest Singer)
9)Mohit Lalwani (Totla Singer, Good Actor)
10)Priyanka Negi (Can Only Talk, Cant Sing)
11)Kuldeep Singh (sing like Himesh with nose)
12)Remo Ghosh (can't sing)
13)Bhanu Pratap (hate him)
14)Ananya Mishra (hate her)
Following order is based on their Singing Ability Only(Not my liking but purely on my opinion on their Singing ability):-
Prasenjit Kosambi
Bhavya Pandit
Rajdeep Chatterjee
Ananya Mishra
Torsha Sarkar
Bhanu Pratap
Sourabhee
Shini Kalvint
Kuldeep Singh
Kapil Thapa
Mohit Lalwani
Tulika Ganguly
Priyanka Negi
Remo Ghosh
1)Ananya Mishra
2)Bhavya Pandit
3)Kapil Thapa
4)Kuldeep Singh
5)Mohit Lalwani
6)Priyanka Negi
7)Prasenjit Kosambi
8)Rajdeep Chatterjee
9)Shini Kalvint
10)Sourabhee
11)Tulika Ganguly
12)Bhanu Pratap
13)Remo Ghosh
14)Torsha Sarkar
Following is the Order of my preference: (This order includes their singing ability, and their looks and their personality)
1)Rajdeep Chatterjee (I could relate to him, He sings great, looks good, smile's great, personality matches with one of my best friend, Ashutosh, Just Complete Package)
2)Bhavya Pandit (Bombaite, Sweet Singer, Sing Old Songs too)
3)Prasenjit Kosambi (Awesome Singer, Good Human Being)
4)Torsha Sarkar (Overall package, so far have sung non-challenging songs)
5)Sourabhee (Good Looks, Mix it up with Good Singing)
6)Tulika Ganguly (Good Looking)
7)Shini Kalvint (Fighter)
8)Kapil Thapa (Honest Singer)
9)Mohit Lalwani (Totla Singer, Good Actor)
10)Priyanka Negi (Can Only Talk, Cant Sing)
11)Kuldeep Singh (sing like Himesh with nose)
12)Remo Ghosh (can't sing)
13)Bhanu Pratap (hate him)
14)Ananya Mishra (hate her)
Following order is based on their Singing Ability Only(Not my liking but purely on my opinion on their Singing ability):-
Prasenjit Kosambi
Bhavya Pandit
Rajdeep Chatterjee
Ananya Mishra
Torsha Sarkar
Bhanu Pratap
Sourabhee
Shini Kalvint
Kuldeep Singh
Kapil Thapa
Mohit Lalwani
Tulika Ganguly
Priyanka Negi
Remo Ghosh
DADA-GIRI
DADA-GIRI
Prince of Calcutta or Bengal Tiger or Comeback Kid or Maharaja of Indian Cricket or Captain Courageous or God on Off-Side or Genius on Timing; Saurav Chandidas Ganguly has many nick-names. Out of all names though for Ganguly “Dada-Giri” suits him the best. He remains best and certainly most elegant and flashy Left Handed Batsman played for India.
Out of many achievements that he has been able to accomplish, injecting Spirit and Attitude in Indian Cricket Team via his idealistic “Dada-Giri” would be something for which he will be remembered for centuries. His Captainship single-handedly changed the Outlook of the Indian Team.
“DADA” as we affectionately call Saurav Ganguly has given many moments of success.
Out of all the moments, his waving shirt off at auspicious Lord’s Balcony after winning the unbelievable Net West Final is simply Unforgettable. This was aggression personified.
There are couple of one-day series against Pakistan at Toronto, where he was simply phenomenon with his gentle medium pacer bowling and when Man of The Match was getting decided before even the captain throw the coin for Toss.
It was Ganguly who played that magnificent century inning at Dhaka against Pakistan to chase down more than 300 runs. In Today’s World, 300 seems like a everyday story to chase but that was the inning and the year which gave entire India the hope that India can win the matches without Sachin Tendulkar’s Century.
First Test Match of 2004 Series, against Australia at Brisbane, one of the greenest Top and the person who is least likely to score even double digit runs (described by Pandits), this Bravest of all Captain, comes in and scored 144 runs against the best of the pace attack of Australia.
He recognized the very talent of many youngsters and stuck with them for entire his captainship era. Be It, Harbhajan Singh or Sehwag or Mohd. Kaif or Yuvraj Singh or Zaheer Khan; all remained part of his winning scheme and that was the key reason for India to be able to reach World Cup Final.
One of the remarkable things is, India has never Lost a Test Match when Saurav has scored a century, and only other batsman for India to achieve this task is G.R.Vishwanath.
After being humiliated by media and selectors to make a come back and deliver at the highest level can only be compared with Dennis Lillie who made a come back even after accident and Pataudi who lost his eyes.
Scoring 183 against Sri Lanka in World-Cup Final against World’s Best Off Spinner(chucker), and those “Dancing Down The Track” and hitting the ball out of ground type of sixes just makes the best viewable every time I turn on You-Tube.
Every 100 tells a story --> 100 @ Calcutta his home ground against Pakistan and then followed it up with double century, 100 @ Zimbabwe after Greg Chappell’s blame that he should not be part of playing XI , All 3 hundreds in England against the condition which many has described Ganguly is not equipped to play with.
I always felt, after Kapil Dev’s retirement that Indian Cricket will not be the same and then we found Tendulkar at his best and my favorite Azhar. After Azhar retired I said the same thing, cricket will not be fun to watch after the Artistic brilliance departed but then I found Lara and Gilchrist era. After Lara, Wasim Akram, Warne and Gilchrist gone, it was perhaps Ganguly and Sehwag who kept me awake at night to watch the game. Now After Dada’s departure, before I even feel a hole, I already have couple of favorites to watch the game, “M.S.Dhoni” and “Kevin Pietersen”.
Prince of Calcutta or Bengal Tiger or Comeback Kid or Maharaja of Indian Cricket or Captain Courageous or God on Off-Side or Genius on Timing; Saurav Chandidas Ganguly has many nick-names. Out of all names though for Ganguly “Dada-Giri” suits him the best. He remains best and certainly most elegant and flashy Left Handed Batsman played for India.
Out of many achievements that he has been able to accomplish, injecting Spirit and Attitude in Indian Cricket Team via his idealistic “Dada-Giri” would be something for which he will be remembered for centuries. His Captainship single-handedly changed the Outlook of the Indian Team.
“DADA” as we affectionately call Saurav Ganguly has given many moments of success.
Out of all the moments, his waving shirt off at auspicious Lord’s Balcony after winning the unbelievable Net West Final is simply Unforgettable. This was aggression personified.
There are couple of one-day series against Pakistan at Toronto, where he was simply phenomenon with his gentle medium pacer bowling and when Man of The Match was getting decided before even the captain throw the coin for Toss.
It was Ganguly who played that magnificent century inning at Dhaka against Pakistan to chase down more than 300 runs. In Today’s World, 300 seems like a everyday story to chase but that was the inning and the year which gave entire India the hope that India can win the matches without Sachin Tendulkar’s Century.
First Test Match of 2004 Series, against Australia at Brisbane, one of the greenest Top and the person who is least likely to score even double digit runs (described by Pandits), this Bravest of all Captain, comes in and scored 144 runs against the best of the pace attack of Australia.
He recognized the very talent of many youngsters and stuck with them for entire his captainship era. Be It, Harbhajan Singh or Sehwag or Mohd. Kaif or Yuvraj Singh or Zaheer Khan; all remained part of his winning scheme and that was the key reason for India to be able to reach World Cup Final.
One of the remarkable things is, India has never Lost a Test Match when Saurav has scored a century, and only other batsman for India to achieve this task is G.R.Vishwanath.
After being humiliated by media and selectors to make a come back and deliver at the highest level can only be compared with Dennis Lillie who made a come back even after accident and Pataudi who lost his eyes.
Scoring 183 against Sri Lanka in World-Cup Final against World’s Best Off Spinner(chucker), and those “Dancing Down The Track” and hitting the ball out of ground type of sixes just makes the best viewable every time I turn on You-Tube.
Every 100 tells a story --> 100 @ Calcutta his home ground against Pakistan and then followed it up with double century, 100 @ Zimbabwe after Greg Chappell’s blame that he should not be part of playing XI , All 3 hundreds in England against the condition which many has described Ganguly is not equipped to play with.
I always felt, after Kapil Dev’s retirement that Indian Cricket will not be the same and then we found Tendulkar at his best and my favorite Azhar. After Azhar retired I said the same thing, cricket will not be fun to watch after the Artistic brilliance departed but then I found Lara and Gilchrist era. After Lara, Wasim Akram, Warne and Gilchrist gone, it was perhaps Ganguly and Sehwag who kept me awake at night to watch the game. Now After Dada’s departure, before I even feel a hole, I already have couple of favorites to watch the game, “M.S.Dhoni” and “Kevin Pietersen”.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Indian Idol Season 4
Top 10:
10 : Remo Ghosh/Kapil Thapa
Both of these guys are very jolly, fun-loving guys.
Kapil belongs to Army and loves three people that I love too, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Shaan. This “Fauji bhai” is fearless and sing songs effectively yet effortlessly and most important sweetly.
Remo Ghosh is a school boy, cute looking baby face. He reminds me of Kunal Khemu who acted in Raja Hindustani. I have huge doubts over his singing capability, but then Indian Idol is not a singing contest, it is a VOTING contest, so he may surprise many people by going deep in the game with his image.
9 : Tulika Ganguly
I wish, Tulika could have participated in Miss India rather than Indian Idol contest. Her singing is not her best asset but her smile and look definitely is. I hope she makes it to the Top 10.
8 : Priyanka Negi
Another Delhi Gurl, along with Tulika and both of them represent “Young & Refreshing” India. Priyanka actually is a better singer going with her personality; I not only hope or wish but actually do believe she will make it in the Top 10.
7 : Mohit Lalwani
Mohit Lalwani reminds me a lot about my favorite Indian Idol 2 contestant Amey Date. Fluent and perfect singer going with that “X” factor makes him perfect candidate to be Indian Idol. However, Indian Idol has always given surprise results and I wont be surprised if this guy falls out in the middle of the game due to lack of votes. I also think that he has a bit of “TOTLA PAN” in his singing.
6 : Akanksha Palkar
This girl gives me an impression of “Making of another Lata Mangeshkar”. She has typical sweet and clean marathi voice. Her best performances are yet to come.
5 : Prosenjit Kosambi
Another MARATHI MANUS; reminds me a lot of my friend, Rohan Jamdar. He has same kind of confident attitude, and belief. You can add classical singing and MA in Music, which gives you the idea of how talented this kid is.
4 : Torsha Sarkar
She was no where near to my favorite zone until she sang, “Chura Liya Hai Tumne”. Although, I personally believe that this particular song itself is so sweet and melodious that anyone with good singing capability can make this song memorable. She has the personality of a champion in making if she get her focus right.
3 : Rajdeep Chatterjee
My Personal favorite is Rajdeep and I guess he is Judges Favorite too. He has tremendous range and he can take up any challenging songs at the same time can sing, slow melodious songs effectively as well.
2 : Sandeep Ubale
It is a very tough choice to make in between, Rajdeep and Sandeep. Both of them are talented and both of them are best equipped to become Indian Idol. Who Would Win the Battle and who will Miss out, is very hard to tell.
1 : Bhavya Pandit
I guess after 3 MEN Indian Idols, It is high time for a girl to be an Indian Idol. Bhavya is perfectly fit for it. She has that “Lata-Aasha” kind of voice with modern touch. She has very good personality to add to her singing.
There are other talented singers in the competition who unfortunately are not part of my Top 10.
Ananya , I think is very overrated and arrogant kid.
Keshav Prasad, Charit Dixit, Kuldeep Singh, Megha Sharma, Roshan, Sourabhee, Sreejita does not even belong to Top 20 list.
Shini may make it in Top 12 and so is perhaps Nirali.
Bhanu Pratap is a good singer but he is MALE RAKHI SAWANT, too much drama.
10 : Remo Ghosh/Kapil Thapa
Both of these guys are very jolly, fun-loving guys.
Kapil belongs to Army and loves three people that I love too, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Shaan. This “Fauji bhai” is fearless and sing songs effectively yet effortlessly and most important sweetly.
Remo Ghosh is a school boy, cute looking baby face. He reminds me of Kunal Khemu who acted in Raja Hindustani. I have huge doubts over his singing capability, but then Indian Idol is not a singing contest, it is a VOTING contest, so he may surprise many people by going deep in the game with his image.
9 : Tulika Ganguly
I wish, Tulika could have participated in Miss India rather than Indian Idol contest. Her singing is not her best asset but her smile and look definitely is. I hope she makes it to the Top 10.
8 : Priyanka Negi
Another Delhi Gurl, along with Tulika and both of them represent “Young & Refreshing” India. Priyanka actually is a better singer going with her personality; I not only hope or wish but actually do believe she will make it in the Top 10.
7 : Mohit Lalwani
Mohit Lalwani reminds me a lot about my favorite Indian Idol 2 contestant Amey Date. Fluent and perfect singer going with that “X” factor makes him perfect candidate to be Indian Idol. However, Indian Idol has always given surprise results and I wont be surprised if this guy falls out in the middle of the game due to lack of votes. I also think that he has a bit of “TOTLA PAN” in his singing.
6 : Akanksha Palkar
This girl gives me an impression of “Making of another Lata Mangeshkar”. She has typical sweet and clean marathi voice. Her best performances are yet to come.
5 : Prosenjit Kosambi
Another MARATHI MANUS; reminds me a lot of my friend, Rohan Jamdar. He has same kind of confident attitude, and belief. You can add classical singing and MA in Music, which gives you the idea of how talented this kid is.
4 : Torsha Sarkar
She was no where near to my favorite zone until she sang, “Chura Liya Hai Tumne”. Although, I personally believe that this particular song itself is so sweet and melodious that anyone with good singing capability can make this song memorable. She has the personality of a champion in making if she get her focus right.
3 : Rajdeep Chatterjee
My Personal favorite is Rajdeep and I guess he is Judges Favorite too. He has tremendous range and he can take up any challenging songs at the same time can sing, slow melodious songs effectively as well.
2 : Sandeep Ubale
It is a very tough choice to make in between, Rajdeep and Sandeep. Both of them are talented and both of them are best equipped to become Indian Idol. Who Would Win the Battle and who will Miss out, is very hard to tell.
1 : Bhavya Pandit
I guess after 3 MEN Indian Idols, It is high time for a girl to be an Indian Idol. Bhavya is perfectly fit for it. She has that “Lata-Aasha” kind of voice with modern touch. She has very good personality to add to her singing.
There are other talented singers in the competition who unfortunately are not part of my Top 10.
Ananya , I think is very overrated and arrogant kid.
Keshav Prasad, Charit Dixit, Kuldeep Singh, Megha Sharma, Roshan, Sourabhee, Sreejita does not even belong to Top 20 list.
Shini may make it in Top 12 and so is perhaps Nirali.
Bhanu Pratap is a good singer but he is MALE RAKHI SAWANT, too much drama.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Red Sox Lost
Red Sox lost to Tampa Bay Rays. Disappointed Yes, Sure It is. But when you look back, it is a season which could give lot of confidence for the years to come for the young blood and fen way fans.
Post-Season this time had limited Beckett, their ace pitcher which helped to kind of rise to occasion ability for Lefty Lester and phenomenon Dice K. Not to forget, Red Sox were without experience Curt Schilling from the start of the season. Red Sox Front Office would have quiet a discussion about Schilling’s Future when it comes to next season. Best case scenario for Red Sox is Beckett, Lester and Dice K healthy for the full season and post season, but planning can not consider the best case scenario and they need to add helping hand in the pitching staff. I thought , not considering SANTANA Deal was a major set back at the start of 2008 season and lets hope that red sox staff doesn’t miss out that kind of golden opportunity at the start of 2009 season. One of that Opportunity available is to grab C.C. Sabathia from Brewers.
Red sox were great to have Papelbon in the bullpen and I hope he would choose to stay there for 2009 season as well. But He definitely needs better support in setting him up. One of the person to let go is Mike Timlin. He blew up many games for Red Sox. First thing first though, they need to re-hire Okajima who was absolutely brilliant entire season and post season. They should try to get someone like Cruz from Arizona or Fuentes from Rockies as they are free agents.
One of the biggest positives from 2008 season was the outfield players from red sox. With Manny out they would definitely struggle to make key plays but their outfield would be strong with Bay, Crisp, Drew and Ellsbury. I would say, Outfield is something where Red Sox needs to stick to this four players. There are many high profile hitters available in the market such as Ramirez, Abreu, Crawford, Dunn, Edmonds, Guerrero, Monroe etc. but I think, Red Sox need to concentrate more to strengthen their pitching staff rather than hitting staff.
Mike Lowell’s departure in the middle of the post season was a huge blow to Red Sox. They missed him dearly but this was one of the mistakes that Red Sox did in the open market last year. When they knew that they are not going to pursue Santana deal on the expense of Lester then they should have went for Cabrera.
Looking at the positives for 2009 is that, Red Sox can take any of the in field capability in the market available. If they can get good first baseman, they can move Youkilis to Third Base and keep Lowrie/Lugo @ short stop. If they can get good third baseman, they can keep Youkilis @ first base. If they can get good Short Stop in place of Lugo deal, they should take it, move Lowrie to Third base and keep Youkilis @ First. So There are lot of options available but they need to get one strong in fielder.
Casey Blake move was heart breaking when red sox knew that Lowell is injured and they did not pursue that deal, they will get the same opportunity in the middle of off season and they should grab it, unless they are eyeing, Joe Crede from White Sox or Chipper Jones from Atlanta. If they can not get the third baseman, there is always an option open for Teixeira from Angels for first base position and he can definitely fill in Ramirez’s shoes at number 4 spot.
There is a sign at the back of many cars, which says, “I support Red Sox and each and every team who hates Yankees” , So, Looking @ the brighter picture of 2009, Lets Wish Rays for their first ever World Series Campaign !!!!
Post-Season this time had limited Beckett, their ace pitcher which helped to kind of rise to occasion ability for Lefty Lester and phenomenon Dice K. Not to forget, Red Sox were without experience Curt Schilling from the start of the season. Red Sox Front Office would have quiet a discussion about Schilling’s Future when it comes to next season. Best case scenario for Red Sox is Beckett, Lester and Dice K healthy for the full season and post season, but planning can not consider the best case scenario and they need to add helping hand in the pitching staff. I thought , not considering SANTANA Deal was a major set back at the start of 2008 season and lets hope that red sox staff doesn’t miss out that kind of golden opportunity at the start of 2009 season. One of that Opportunity available is to grab C.C. Sabathia from Brewers.
Red sox were great to have Papelbon in the bullpen and I hope he would choose to stay there for 2009 season as well. But He definitely needs better support in setting him up. One of the person to let go is Mike Timlin. He blew up many games for Red Sox. First thing first though, they need to re-hire Okajima who was absolutely brilliant entire season and post season. They should try to get someone like Cruz from Arizona or Fuentes from Rockies as they are free agents.
One of the biggest positives from 2008 season was the outfield players from red sox. With Manny out they would definitely struggle to make key plays but their outfield would be strong with Bay, Crisp, Drew and Ellsbury. I would say, Outfield is something where Red Sox needs to stick to this four players. There are many high profile hitters available in the market such as Ramirez, Abreu, Crawford, Dunn, Edmonds, Guerrero, Monroe etc. but I think, Red Sox need to concentrate more to strengthen their pitching staff rather than hitting staff.
Mike Lowell’s departure in the middle of the post season was a huge blow to Red Sox. They missed him dearly but this was one of the mistakes that Red Sox did in the open market last year. When they knew that they are not going to pursue Santana deal on the expense of Lester then they should have went for Cabrera.
Looking at the positives for 2009 is that, Red Sox can take any of the in field capability in the market available. If they can get good first baseman, they can move Youkilis to Third Base and keep Lowrie/Lugo @ short stop. If they can get good third baseman, they can keep Youkilis @ first base. If they can get good Short Stop in place of Lugo deal, they should take it, move Lowrie to Third base and keep Youkilis @ First. So There are lot of options available but they need to get one strong in fielder.
Casey Blake move was heart breaking when red sox knew that Lowell is injured and they did not pursue that deal, they will get the same opportunity in the middle of off season and they should grab it, unless they are eyeing, Joe Crede from White Sox or Chipper Jones from Atlanta. If they can not get the third baseman, there is always an option open for Teixeira from Angels for first base position and he can definitely fill in Ramirez’s shoes at number 4 spot.
There is a sign at the back of many cars, which says, “I support Red Sox and each and every team who hates Yankees” , So, Looking @ the brighter picture of 2009, Lets Wish Rays for their first ever World Series Campaign !!!!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Lets go Red SOX
Bottom of 7th Inning. This is the 5th game of the series. Red Sox are down 3 game to 1. Red Sox are down @ home and rays are about to sweep against Red Sox @ home.
Bottom of 7th Inning. Big Papi has just one hit in 11 @ bat. Team is struggling. Red Sox faithfuls are walking towards their home. But Wait Wait Wait ...Its FENWAY PARK ...How can this Park disappoints and here comes a thriller.
Bottom of 7th Inning. Big Papi gives the hope with 3 run homer and scores are 7-4.
Bottom of 8th Inning: J D Drew homers and scores are 7-6.
Bottom of 8th Inning: Crisp brings Kotsay home by and scores are LEVEL. Spectators are dancing and beer bottles are flowing.
Bottom of 9th .......Are you kidding me...Ofcourse Ofcourse Ofcourse ....RED SOX WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN....We are going to TAMPA BAY !!!!!!!!
Bottom of 7th Inning. Big Papi has just one hit in 11 @ bat. Team is struggling. Red Sox faithfuls are walking towards their home. But Wait Wait Wait ...Its FENWAY PARK ...How can this Park disappoints and here comes a thriller.
Bottom of 7th Inning. Big Papi gives the hope with 3 run homer and scores are 7-4.
Bottom of 8th Inning: J D Drew homers and scores are 7-6.
Bottom of 8th Inning: Crisp brings Kotsay home by and scores are LEVEL. Spectators are dancing and beer bottles are flowing.
Bottom of 9th .......Are you kidding me...Ofcourse Ofcourse Ofcourse ....RED SOX WINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN....We are going to TAMPA BAY !!!!!!!!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bye Bye Ganguly
Cricket season for India is just a week away. One of the toughest year for Indian Test Cricket is about to begin. 4 Test Matches against Australia , 3 against England and 3 against Pakistan @ Pakistan is what Indian Test Team is going to play in the next 6 months.
New Group of Selectors will certainly bring new hopes and new ideas. Selection Committee Chairman, Kris Srikanth was known for his aggressive shot selection and one of the bravest test captain which was thrown away after controversial India's Tour of Pakistan in late 80's.
One of the Talk in Town during the selection would certainly be: Ganguly. It has been that way ever since Indian Cricket hired Greg Chappel. I was one of the greatest admire of captain courageous Ganguly in early 2000 till 2004. India needed someone who can just give it to Australian Attitude and English Posture. It was Ganguly who gave birth to this new outlook of Indian Cricket Team. He inserted to "give it back to Opposition" stance. No One can Take Away, What Ganguly has given to the team of India and no one can argue about his fighting quality to faught back and get back in the team.
However, I think Time has come now that he himself switch off his "Test Match career" to give chance to Younger Generation. IPL 2008 has given so many young stars who could prove themselves at the test match arena and I certainly think they are ready to take on the World. Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and S.Badrinath certainly deserve a chance and should be given a chance now.
Easiest decision for the selectors is going to be to choose the 3 Opening batsmen's for this upcoming Australian Tour. Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are not only the best combination for One Dayers but also for Test Matches. Back Up Opener in case of any injury would be Akash Chopra.
Middle Order group of batsman should be : Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Suresh Raina. With Dravid and Tendulkar being at number 3 and 4 is no brainer, many would argue the selection of Laxman. Laxman can be given a chance looking at his past career against Australia. Lately, he is not in his best form but this series could be an Utlimatum for him. Also, Sitting Out Ganguly should be a clear message to Laxman that he or Dravid could be next if they dont perform. Now Why Suresh Raina and not Yuvraj Singh. Answer is Simple: Look at last 12 months and compare Yuvraj's Performance and Suresh Raina's Performance. This kid Suresh Raina is all-round player. He can play both spin and swing bowling, He can attack and play a long inning as he has shown in his small Ranji Trophy career. Also, Giving Suresh Raina a chance will be a clear message to Dravid and Laxman that Yuvraj is knocking the door. Also this would be a message to Yuvraj Singh, Perform or Youngstars will take charge. Back-Up Option in the Middle Order should be given to : ROHIT SHARMA.
Selection of Dhoni as a wicket-keeper is no brainer as well. Spin Department will be in the hands of Kumble and Harbhajan. Many has hinted Kumble should retire but I think he is still the best bowler in the subcontinent pitches to take the wickets. Perhaps, this would be the last 10 test matches, he could play and I think He will feature in all of the 10 test matches unless he is injured. Entire Year, Piyush Chawla should be kept in the team so that he can learn few things from this Master Spinner and then perhaps end of 2009, he is ready to take over the responsibility of Spin Department from Kumble.
IPL 2008 has also gave too many fast bowling option to Indian Team. Zaheer Khan, R.P Singh, Irfan Pathan and in form Ashish Nehra are left handed fast bowling Option.
Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Gony, VRV Singh etc. Top 3 Bowlers in current form and experience are: Zaheer Khan , Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel.
Final Squad: Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Raina, Dhoni,Kumble, Harbhajan,Zaheer and Ishant Sharma.
Reserved: Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla and S.Badrinath/Rohit Sharma.
New Group of Selectors will certainly bring new hopes and new ideas. Selection Committee Chairman, Kris Srikanth was known for his aggressive shot selection and one of the bravest test captain which was thrown away after controversial India's Tour of Pakistan in late 80's.
One of the Talk in Town during the selection would certainly be: Ganguly. It has been that way ever since Indian Cricket hired Greg Chappel. I was one of the greatest admire of captain courageous Ganguly in early 2000 till 2004. India needed someone who can just give it to Australian Attitude and English Posture. It was Ganguly who gave birth to this new outlook of Indian Cricket Team. He inserted to "give it back to Opposition" stance. No One can Take Away, What Ganguly has given to the team of India and no one can argue about his fighting quality to faught back and get back in the team.
However, I think Time has come now that he himself switch off his "Test Match career" to give chance to Younger Generation. IPL 2008 has given so many young stars who could prove themselves at the test match arena and I certainly think they are ready to take on the World. Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and S.Badrinath certainly deserve a chance and should be given a chance now.
Easiest decision for the selectors is going to be to choose the 3 Opening batsmen's for this upcoming Australian Tour. Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir are not only the best combination for One Dayers but also for Test Matches. Back Up Opener in case of any injury would be Akash Chopra.
Middle Order group of batsman should be : Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Suresh Raina. With Dravid and Tendulkar being at number 3 and 4 is no brainer, many would argue the selection of Laxman. Laxman can be given a chance looking at his past career against Australia. Lately, he is not in his best form but this series could be an Utlimatum for him. Also, Sitting Out Ganguly should be a clear message to Laxman that he or Dravid could be next if they dont perform. Now Why Suresh Raina and not Yuvraj Singh. Answer is Simple: Look at last 12 months and compare Yuvraj's Performance and Suresh Raina's Performance. This kid Suresh Raina is all-round player. He can play both spin and swing bowling, He can attack and play a long inning as he has shown in his small Ranji Trophy career. Also, Giving Suresh Raina a chance will be a clear message to Dravid and Laxman that Yuvraj is knocking the door. Also this would be a message to Yuvraj Singh, Perform or Youngstars will take charge. Back-Up Option in the Middle Order should be given to : ROHIT SHARMA.
Selection of Dhoni as a wicket-keeper is no brainer as well. Spin Department will be in the hands of Kumble and Harbhajan. Many has hinted Kumble should retire but I think he is still the best bowler in the subcontinent pitches to take the wickets. Perhaps, this would be the last 10 test matches, he could play and I think He will feature in all of the 10 test matches unless he is injured. Entire Year, Piyush Chawla should be kept in the team so that he can learn few things from this Master Spinner and then perhaps end of 2009, he is ready to take over the responsibility of Spin Department from Kumble.
IPL 2008 has also gave too many fast bowling option to Indian Team. Zaheer Khan, R.P Singh, Irfan Pathan and in form Ashish Nehra are left handed fast bowling Option.
Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma, Sreesanth, Gony, VRV Singh etc. Top 3 Bowlers in current form and experience are: Zaheer Khan , Ishant Sharma and Munaf Patel.
Final Squad: Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Raina, Dhoni,Kumble, Harbhajan,Zaheer and Ishant Sharma.
Reserved: Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla and S.Badrinath/Rohit Sharma.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
India Aus Fantasy Cricket
Dear Friends,
I would like you to join a League in the game 'India v Australia' at Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket.
To join the league,
Step 1: Go to Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket
Step 2: Login with your Cricinfo ID (you will need to register if you do not have one)
Step 3: Create a team for yourself (this step is optional if you already have one)
Step 4: Click on 'Join a League' on the Left Hand Navigation
Step 5: On the page which appears, select your team, copy and paste the unique invitation code(LPIN) generated for you as shown below
Step 6: You are now a member of the league - all set to play Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket
Your Unique Invitation Code:
--------------------------------
57417-3de500ce12ce32db
--------------------------------
Looking forward to have you as part of the league
Warm Regards,
Cricinfo Fantasy Team
I would like you to join a League in the game 'India v Australia' at Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket.
To join the league,
Step 1: Go to Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket
Step 2: Login with your Cricinfo ID (you will need to register if you do not have one)
Step 3: Create a team for yourself (this step is optional if you already have one)
Step 4: Click on 'Join a League' on the Left Hand Navigation
Step 5: On the page which appears, select your team, copy and paste the unique invitation code(LPIN) generated for you as shown below
Step 6: You are now a member of the league - all set to play Cricinfo Fantasy Cricket
Your Unique Invitation Code:
--------------------------------
57417-3de500ce12ce32db
--------------------------------
Looking forward to have you as part of the league
Warm Regards,
Cricinfo Fantasy Team
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Immigration Guru McCain
If immigration is your number one political priority, whatshould you do this election? The answer to the question is simple for the ILW: if McCain wins, we win,and if Obama wins, we lose. That's because both Democrats and Republicansare almost unanimous in the belief that we need to import more foreignworkers, and to give amnesty to the ones who came to this countryillegally. Unfortunately immigration is one of the few issuesboth parties agree on, but it is true that their rhetoric on immigration isalmost identical.
We begin with the observation that Democrats will likely consolidate andexpand their control of the Senate and the House. This is good news for theimmigration cause. However, in spite of controlling Congress for the pasttwo years Democrats have done virtually nothing on immigration benefits andhave continued massive spending on immigration enforcement. So, even thoughmost political analysts are agreed that Democrats are poised forsignificant gains in the House and the Senate, that alone does not portendany immigration benefits in the coming years.
With that background, let us examine the difference in prospects forimmigration benefits on Jan 20, 2009 if we get President Obama or if we getPresident McCain.
If we get President Obama, Democrats are going to be euphoric on Jan 20,2009, and rightly so - being back in the White House, at last, after 8 longand bitter years. Democrats have not been able to pursue their prioritiesfor 8 years and we can expect them to act aggressively on their bigpriorities immediately after a President Obama takes office. There are atleast four Democratic priorities ahead of immigration: the Iraq war,universal health care, budget/taxes and energy policy. These are all large,complex issues and Congress will take most of a President Obama's firstterm to work on these. In such a scenario, we will not see any significantimmigration benefits in the foreseeable future.
If we get President McCain, we will still have a powerful Democraticmajority in Congress on Jan 20, 2009. This Congress will be at loggerheadswith him on all the major Democratic priorities. Democrats will want tobring the troops home whereas Mr. McCain wants them in Iraq for 100 years;Democrats see a health care crisis whereas Mr. McCain sees none; Democratswill want increased taxes whereas Mr. McCain would like to cut them;Democrats want to conserve oil and work on alternative sources of powerwhereas Mr. McCain would like to drill for oil all over the map. Democratsand a President McCain will be 180 degrees apart on all major Democraticpriorities. In this bitter fighting hardly anything will get donelegislatively, and both Democrats and Mr. McCain will be looking foropportunities to show the country that they can work on something together.
While there are a few areas of agreement between Mr. McCain and Democrats,immigration is the largest issue on which Democrats and McCain agree. Whilethe current Republican Party platform is the most anti-immigrant one inmemory, there were news reports that Mr. McCain, who has a long trackrecord of being pro-immigration, tried to make it more immigration-friendlyand failed. This is the issue on which he is most likely to stab hisparty's anti-immigrationist wing in the back both in his politicalinterests and due to his own convictions (Mr. McCain had to fight hisparty's anti-immigrationists tooth and nail during the Republicanprimaries). We expect to see almost all of the original McCain-Kennedy billbecome law during the first six months of a McCain Presidency.
The Bush era has been the worst in memory for immigration advocates.However the combination of a powerful Democratic majority in Congress withMr. McCain as President offers the best hope for speedily obtainingdesperately needed immigration benefits.
We begin with the observation that Democrats will likely consolidate andexpand their control of the Senate and the House. This is good news for theimmigration cause. However, in spite of controlling Congress for the pasttwo years Democrats have done virtually nothing on immigration benefits andhave continued massive spending on immigration enforcement. So, even thoughmost political analysts are agreed that Democrats are poised forsignificant gains in the House and the Senate, that alone does not portendany immigration benefits in the coming years.
With that background, let us examine the difference in prospects forimmigration benefits on Jan 20, 2009 if we get President Obama or if we getPresident McCain.
If we get President Obama, Democrats are going to be euphoric on Jan 20,2009, and rightly so - being back in the White House, at last, after 8 longand bitter years. Democrats have not been able to pursue their prioritiesfor 8 years and we can expect them to act aggressively on their bigpriorities immediately after a President Obama takes office. There are atleast four Democratic priorities ahead of immigration: the Iraq war,universal health care, budget/taxes and energy policy. These are all large,complex issues and Congress will take most of a President Obama's firstterm to work on these. In such a scenario, we will not see any significantimmigration benefits in the foreseeable future.
If we get President McCain, we will still have a powerful Democraticmajority in Congress on Jan 20, 2009. This Congress will be at loggerheadswith him on all the major Democratic priorities. Democrats will want tobring the troops home whereas Mr. McCain wants them in Iraq for 100 years;Democrats see a health care crisis whereas Mr. McCain sees none; Democratswill want increased taxes whereas Mr. McCain would like to cut them;Democrats want to conserve oil and work on alternative sources of powerwhereas Mr. McCain would like to drill for oil all over the map. Democratsand a President McCain will be 180 degrees apart on all major Democraticpriorities. In this bitter fighting hardly anything will get donelegislatively, and both Democrats and Mr. McCain will be looking foropportunities to show the country that they can work on something together.
While there are a few areas of agreement between Mr. McCain and Democrats,immigration is the largest issue on which Democrats and McCain agree. Whilethe current Republican Party platform is the most anti-immigrant one inmemory, there were news reports that Mr. McCain, who has a long trackrecord of being pro-immigration, tried to make it more immigration-friendlyand failed. This is the issue on which he is most likely to stab hisparty's anti-immigrationist wing in the back both in his politicalinterests and due to his own convictions (Mr. McCain had to fight hisparty's anti-immigrationists tooth and nail during the Republicanprimaries). We expect to see almost all of the original McCain-Kennedy billbecome law during the first six months of a McCain Presidency.
The Bush era has been the worst in memory for immigration advocates.However the combination of a powerful Democratic majority in Congress withMr. McCain as President offers the best hope for speedily obtainingdesperately needed immigration benefits.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Obama Hater
Barack Obama discussed the economy and jobs at the Schott Glass plant inDuryea, Pennsylvania on 9/5/2008. I haven't been able to find a transcriptbut you can watch the entire video online at: http://www.c-span.org/search.aspx?For=obama%20Duryea
At 22 minutes into the video, Obama talks about jobs and how to improve oureconomy. He repeated the standard industry line that we need more Americanborn PhDs. Wrong! Wrong! We need more good paying jobs for the Americanborn PhDs, but of course he never offers that as a solution.
27 minutes into the video, Obama answers questions from the public. That'swhen he really blows it!
Somebody from the local bricklayer and craftworker union is concerned aboutH-2B visas. The union guy voiced concern that Bush wants to streamline thereview process for granting H-2B visas. His concern is well founded (seethis newsletter for more info: "H-2B Oil Riggers from India protest in DC,No. 1897 -- 7/30/2008"). Not only does the Bush administration want to makeit easier for companies to get H-2Bs, they want to implement a de factoincrease in the number H-2B visas as well. Bush plans to do these things bypassing a DOL regulation instead of asking Congress to pass legislation.
<<< FACTOID and QUESTION >>> Did you know that Arnold Schwarzenegger came to the U.S. asan H-2B bricklayer? If not, read the newsletter"Schwarzenegger is NIV Scofflaw", October 01, 2003".
Obama didn't understand the bricklayer's question -- perhaps because hedidn't understand what an H-2B visa is, and he obviously has no clue aboutthe wide variety of foreign workers that use guest worker visas. Obamatotally confused H-2B and H-1B, so to avoid getting myself mixed up, I willuse "H2B" when Obama meant H-1B, and H-2B when appropriate.
Obama explained that "H2B" is used for highly specialized workers and thenwent on to say: "we really do have a shortage of PhDs, scientists, andengineers." Compounding his errors, he said that we have: "a continualnursing shortage" that is caused by a lack of teachers who can instruct newnurses. What Obama fails to understand is that the number of nursingteachers appears to be dwindling because it's much cheaper for hospitals toimport nurses from the Philippines than to run nursing schools in the U.S.
To prove his point Obama used an example of an employer who couldn't findan American for a specialized position, so an Indian with an "H2B" wasimported to take the job. I hate to accuse Obama of racial stereotyping,but that's exactly what he did! Fact is, only about 50% of the H-1Bs areIndian, and very few H-2Bs come from India. Obama seemed to buy into thesomewhat racist notion that Asians are smarter and more educated thanAmericans.
NOTE: If you don't understand the difference between H-1B and H-2B, go tothis page to learn more: http://www.jobdestruction.info/ShameH1B/VisaTypes.htm
Rewinding a little, at about 19 minutes into the video, Obama talks aboutcreating energy jobs that can't be outsourced. Uh, what types of jobs arethose, considering that H-2Bs are being used as oil riggers? Obama's jobcreation plans are superficial because he doesn't comprehend that almostall jobs can be outsourced or insourced,
Obama never answered the bricklayer's question. Instead, he voiced a fewvague generalities about how we have to make sure "H2Bs" aren't used tohurt American software engineers. I would pay good money to see the puzzledlook on that bricklayer's face when Obama was rambling about high-techworkers. LOL! Obama alluded to wanting to reform "H2B". As Norm Matloff explains in hisnewsletter, which is included below, if Obama really wanted to changethings he could support the reform bill from the other Senator fromIllinois -- Richard Durbin. Obama has yet to sign up as a co-sponsor ofDurbin's reform bill that really would be a "Change We Can Believe In". News stories in the U.S. about Obama's Duryea speech on "H2B" arenon-existent, but on international websites, and particularly those basedin India, the stories are propagating. Americans that depend on domesticmagazines or newspapers would have no way of finding out what Obama saidabout "H2B".
I find it rather interesting that the Obamite youtubers didn't think toinclude Obama's "H2B" comments. Instead they posted a heavily edited andsanitized version of Obama's speech. To see what I mean, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L31go6-LAs0 The article below by Sridhar Krishnaswami is being repeated on many Indianand foreign websites. He got his facts straight, which proves he watchescspan, but I disagree with his contention that Obama said that he wanted tostreamline the H-2B process. If anything Obama was suggesting that we needbetter enforcement to protect American workers, which is the opposite ofstreamlining since it would involve more bureaucracy. Actually, since Obamadoesn't know the difference between H-1B and H-2B it's unlikely he has anyidea what needs to be done to solve the many problems with these visas. Onething for sure, Obama thinks there is a shortage of high-tech workers, socount on him to push for increasing the visa cap. HELP NEEDED: If any of you happened to record the entire interview pleasecontact me. I would like to edit it down to just what Obama said about"H2B" but unfortunately cspan streaming video quality is too low to editproperly.
At 22 minutes into the video, Obama talks about jobs and how to improve oureconomy. He repeated the standard industry line that we need more Americanborn PhDs. Wrong! Wrong! We need more good paying jobs for the Americanborn PhDs, but of course he never offers that as a solution.
27 minutes into the video, Obama answers questions from the public. That'swhen he really blows it!
Somebody from the local bricklayer and craftworker union is concerned aboutH-2B visas. The union guy voiced concern that Bush wants to streamline thereview process for granting H-2B visas. His concern is well founded (seethis newsletter for more info: "H-2B Oil Riggers from India protest in DC,No. 1897 -- 7/30/2008"). Not only does the Bush administration want to makeit easier for companies to get H-2Bs, they want to implement a de factoincrease in the number H-2B visas as well. Bush plans to do these things bypassing a DOL regulation instead of asking Congress to pass legislation.
<<< FACTOID and QUESTION >>> Did you know that Arnold Schwarzenegger came to the U.S. asan H-2B bricklayer? If not, read the newsletter"Schwarzenegger is NIV Scofflaw", October 01, 2003".
Obama didn't understand the bricklayer's question -- perhaps because hedidn't understand what an H-2B visa is, and he obviously has no clue aboutthe wide variety of foreign workers that use guest worker visas. Obamatotally confused H-2B and H-1B, so to avoid getting myself mixed up, I willuse "H2B" when Obama meant H-1B, and H-2B when appropriate.
Obama explained that "H2B" is used for highly specialized workers and thenwent on to say: "we really do have a shortage of PhDs, scientists, andengineers." Compounding his errors, he said that we have: "a continualnursing shortage" that is caused by a lack of teachers who can instruct newnurses. What Obama fails to understand is that the number of nursingteachers appears to be dwindling because it's much cheaper for hospitals toimport nurses from the Philippines than to run nursing schools in the U.S.
To prove his point Obama used an example of an employer who couldn't findan American for a specialized position, so an Indian with an "H2B" wasimported to take the job. I hate to accuse Obama of racial stereotyping,but that's exactly what he did! Fact is, only about 50% of the H-1Bs areIndian, and very few H-2Bs come from India. Obama seemed to buy into thesomewhat racist notion that Asians are smarter and more educated thanAmericans.
NOTE: If you don't understand the difference between H-1B and H-2B, go tothis page to learn more: http://www.jobdestruction.info/ShameH1B/VisaTypes.htm
Rewinding a little, at about 19 minutes into the video, Obama talks aboutcreating energy jobs that can't be outsourced. Uh, what types of jobs arethose, considering that H-2Bs are being used as oil riggers? Obama's jobcreation plans are superficial because he doesn't comprehend that almostall jobs can be outsourced or insourced,
Obama never answered the bricklayer's question. Instead, he voiced a fewvague generalities about how we have to make sure "H2Bs" aren't used tohurt American software engineers. I would pay good money to see the puzzledlook on that bricklayer's face when Obama was rambling about high-techworkers. LOL! Obama alluded to wanting to reform "H2B". As Norm Matloff explains in hisnewsletter, which is included below, if Obama really wanted to changethings he could support the reform bill from the other Senator fromIllinois -- Richard Durbin. Obama has yet to sign up as a co-sponsor ofDurbin's reform bill that really would be a "Change We Can Believe In". News stories in the U.S. about Obama's Duryea speech on "H2B" arenon-existent, but on international websites, and particularly those basedin India, the stories are propagating. Americans that depend on domesticmagazines or newspapers would have no way of finding out what Obama saidabout "H2B".
I find it rather interesting that the Obamite youtubers didn't think toinclude Obama's "H2B" comments. Instead they posted a heavily edited andsanitized version of Obama's speech. To see what I mean, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L31go6-LAs0 The article below by Sridhar Krishnaswami is being repeated on many Indianand foreign websites. He got his facts straight, which proves he watchescspan, but I disagree with his contention that Obama said that he wanted tostreamline the H-2B process. If anything Obama was suggesting that we needbetter enforcement to protect American workers, which is the opposite ofstreamlining since it would involve more bureaucracy. Actually, since Obamadoesn't know the difference between H-1B and H-2B it's unlikely he has anyidea what needs to be done to solve the many problems with these visas. Onething for sure, Obama thinks there is a shortage of high-tech workers, socount on him to push for increasing the visa cap. HELP NEEDED: If any of you happened to record the entire interview pleasecontact me. I would like to edit it down to just what Obama said about"H2B" but unfortunately cspan streaming video quality is too low to editproperly.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Bollywood-2008 (First Half)
There are as many as 46 Bollywood movies released in the first half of the year, 2008and not a single movie has caught my attention. Disappointing year so far as Bollywood movies is concerned and my eyes are looking for something spectacular in the later half.
I admit, I have not scene many of them, in fact almost none of them in the theater (for unknown reasons), but still after the experience of almost 20 years of bollywood movie watching, A Good movie is a good movie, no matter where you see it. I saw only 2 movies in theater, Jodha Akbar and Sunday and both were disappointing.
Specially, Jodha Akbar, I had so many expectation from that movie but I got so bored watching it,that during the interval, I felt to drive back home. Almost As Ashutosh Gowarikar was trying to make, "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi". Aishwarya was aweful, There was no chemistry, Her eyes looked RED all the time. Hrithik, I felt did a good enough job but when script fails to keep you on the seat, acting alone can not save the ship.
Sunday, was horrible except couple of jokes but Irfan Khan still made a mark.
In Indian Movies, There is always a phase for the comic characters. Once There was Anupam Kher (films like Lamhe, Darr etc), then came Johny Lever. He lasted for 4 to 5 years and then Since Hera Pheri, sort of Paresh Rawal took over. Now is the time for Irfan Khan. Well, he is good enough actor to carry any role but he excelled in the real life human being's comic sense.
Now..Let me say about the other movies, that I atleast completely watched in the DVD. Race/Sarkar Raj/Jannat/De Taali/ Halla Bol & Shaurya. There are few movies that I started watching it but couldnt able to finish it as they were so horrible, films like Bhoothnath/Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na/Tashan/Mere Baap Pehle Aap/Mithya/Black and White/Super Star/Rama Rama Kya Hai Yeh Drama/U Me Aur Hum.
There are few which I am not even daring to see it , films like : Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic/Krazzy 4/One Two Three/Love Story 2050. May be if Time Permit, I would like to see, Bombay to Bangkok and Aamir.
Many of my friends loved, RACE and SARKAR RAJ. Race, which looks like a better version of CASH released last year with little bit of better treatment from Abbas-Mustan. Definately, It is much better than many other movies released this year but it is no where close to the type of movies released last year, Films like, Chak De India/Taare Zameen Par/Jab We Met/Bhool Bhulaiyya or previous years such as Rang De Basanti/Lage Raho Munnabhai. Even if I consider to compare RACE with Masala Flicks like Om Shanti Om, I felt let down. I mean, Om Shanti Om, was far better masala movie then Race. Race has good plot/nice cinematography/good music/good star cast/good direction etc but then It works for BOX OFFICE not for long time. It would give you business but not satisfaction. It is not even the type of movie, where you would keep the DVD and play it when you want to kill the time. I would rather watch, Om Shanti Om or Jab We Met 28th Time then Watch RACE 3rd Time.
SARKAR RAJ, would be the best movie of the year considering Jodha Akbar for classes and Race for masses. This is the movie which could be scene with family or with friends. However, I particularly loved the First Version of the movie. Story and Story Telling was better in the SARKAR then in SARKAR RAJ. Few Drawbacks of the movie is that, Aishwarya's character was forcefully put. When you give the dialogue's like, "Kya Mein bhi tumhare saath chalu", I couldnt help myself saying, "ha bhai jao, nahinto tumhara role kaise badega"? She was trying to portray a character of Business Woman, if so, she needs to see Bipasha Basu in Corporate. Wearing Trouser Pants, you would look business woman but the moment she had given any dialogue you could make out, that "how afraid this character is"? AT one point, you give her the dialogue of "Dad, I dont like his attitude, Its too negative"..with lot of substance into it and then the same woman after one meeting comes out and says"Koi Kaise Kaam Kar Sakta hai yahan pe?"...Business Women dont think that way, They push forward and keep their emotions out of business all the time. RGV failed miserably in defining the character of Aishwarya.
This was not the only drawback, Second Drawback was the character of Abhisekh. 3 Times in the movie, He was shown with Tough looks and Attitude "Mujhe Pata Hai, Sambhal Loonga Mein" but It was all, say and not do. What exactly that character did in the movie? I mean take a look @ God Father's Al Pacino, he became shrewd businessmen when he took over from his father. He took all the decision and stood by it. Even the Style that RGV Wanted to show in the Aby Junior's character didnt worked well. Everyone from SARKAR remembers the way of drinking style of tea of Amitabh. Those eyes were special when he looks through that "RAKABI" while taking a SIP of TEA, Where was that Style in SARKAR RAJ? Its okay, You want to show Abhisekh Modern with CUP in his hand, but show it with style and grace.
Third Failure: Character of that new villain, "bhow", He was too loud, rather than aggresive.
Fourth Failure: Where is the Intelligence in the movie? Why you show Both Nagre's clueless till the end? Yes, Intelligence was showed in the movie, of the villain and then all of a sudden in the hospital, they show, Amitabh came to know everything, Like a MIRACLE?
Even the Surprise or Shocking element of Abhi's Death doesnt give any time to react. All the characters showed in the movie except, Aishwarya has given the negative role? Eventually everyone dies excpet Bachhan Family? What a nobel winning novel story.
I admit, I have not scene many of them, in fact almost none of them in the theater (for unknown reasons), but still after the experience of almost 20 years of bollywood movie watching, A Good movie is a good movie, no matter where you see it. I saw only 2 movies in theater, Jodha Akbar and Sunday and both were disappointing.
Specially, Jodha Akbar, I had so many expectation from that movie but I got so bored watching it,that during the interval, I felt to drive back home. Almost As Ashutosh Gowarikar was trying to make, "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi". Aishwarya was aweful, There was no chemistry, Her eyes looked RED all the time. Hrithik, I felt did a good enough job but when script fails to keep you on the seat, acting alone can not save the ship.
Sunday, was horrible except couple of jokes but Irfan Khan still made a mark.
In Indian Movies, There is always a phase for the comic characters. Once There was Anupam Kher (films like Lamhe, Darr etc), then came Johny Lever. He lasted for 4 to 5 years and then Since Hera Pheri, sort of Paresh Rawal took over. Now is the time for Irfan Khan. Well, he is good enough actor to carry any role but he excelled in the real life human being's comic sense.
Now..Let me say about the other movies, that I atleast completely watched in the DVD. Race/Sarkar Raj/Jannat/De Taali/ Halla Bol & Shaurya. There are few movies that I started watching it but couldnt able to finish it as they were so horrible, films like Bhoothnath/Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na/Tashan/Mere Baap Pehle Aap/Mithya/Black and White/Super Star/Rama Rama Kya Hai Yeh Drama/U Me Aur Hum.
There are few which I am not even daring to see it , films like : Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic/Krazzy 4/One Two Three/Love Story 2050. May be if Time Permit, I would like to see, Bombay to Bangkok and Aamir.
Many of my friends loved, RACE and SARKAR RAJ. Race, which looks like a better version of CASH released last year with little bit of better treatment from Abbas-Mustan. Definately, It is much better than many other movies released this year but it is no where close to the type of movies released last year, Films like, Chak De India/Taare Zameen Par/Jab We Met/Bhool Bhulaiyya or previous years such as Rang De Basanti/Lage Raho Munnabhai. Even if I consider to compare RACE with Masala Flicks like Om Shanti Om, I felt let down. I mean, Om Shanti Om, was far better masala movie then Race. Race has good plot/nice cinematography/good music/good star cast/good direction etc but then It works for BOX OFFICE not for long time. It would give you business but not satisfaction. It is not even the type of movie, where you would keep the DVD and play it when you want to kill the time. I would rather watch, Om Shanti Om or Jab We Met 28th Time then Watch RACE 3rd Time.
SARKAR RAJ, would be the best movie of the year considering Jodha Akbar for classes and Race for masses. This is the movie which could be scene with family or with friends. However, I particularly loved the First Version of the movie. Story and Story Telling was better in the SARKAR then in SARKAR RAJ. Few Drawbacks of the movie is that, Aishwarya's character was forcefully put. When you give the dialogue's like, "Kya Mein bhi tumhare saath chalu", I couldnt help myself saying, "ha bhai jao, nahinto tumhara role kaise badega"? She was trying to portray a character of Business Woman, if so, she needs to see Bipasha Basu in Corporate. Wearing Trouser Pants, you would look business woman but the moment she had given any dialogue you could make out, that "how afraid this character is"? AT one point, you give her the dialogue of "Dad, I dont like his attitude, Its too negative"..with lot of substance into it and then the same woman after one meeting comes out and says"Koi Kaise Kaam Kar Sakta hai yahan pe?"...Business Women dont think that way, They push forward and keep their emotions out of business all the time. RGV failed miserably in defining the character of Aishwarya.
This was not the only drawback, Second Drawback was the character of Abhisekh. 3 Times in the movie, He was shown with Tough looks and Attitude "Mujhe Pata Hai, Sambhal Loonga Mein" but It was all, say and not do. What exactly that character did in the movie? I mean take a look @ God Father's Al Pacino, he became shrewd businessmen when he took over from his father. He took all the decision and stood by it. Even the Style that RGV Wanted to show in the Aby Junior's character didnt worked well. Everyone from SARKAR remembers the way of drinking style of tea of Amitabh. Those eyes were special when he looks through that "RAKABI" while taking a SIP of TEA, Where was that Style in SARKAR RAJ? Its okay, You want to show Abhisekh Modern with CUP in his hand, but show it with style and grace.
Third Failure: Character of that new villain, "bhow", He was too loud, rather than aggresive.
Fourth Failure: Where is the Intelligence in the movie? Why you show Both Nagre's clueless till the end? Yes, Intelligence was showed in the movie, of the villain and then all of a sudden in the hospital, they show, Amitabh came to know everything, Like a MIRACLE?
Even the Surprise or Shocking element of Abhi's Death doesnt give any time to react. All the characters showed in the movie except, Aishwarya has given the negative role? Eventually everyone dies excpet Bachhan Family? What a nobel winning novel story.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Hollywood
List of Hollywood Movies that I have scene:
MARKS DESCRIPTION
10 Comes in Top 10/BEST
9 Comes in Top 50/Better
8 Comes in Top 100/Worth Watching it, It was GOOD
7 Liked the Movie, Can Watch More Than Two Times
6 Worth watching it First Time, Can Watch Second Time
5 It was Okay.
4 I was able to Complete the Movie.
3 Watch it till I knew, I gotto Stop watching it.
2 Couldn'd Finish even the half an hour
1 Nah !!! Its Bad.
Movie Name Marks (Out of 10) YEAR
God Father I/II 10 1975
Die Hard 10 1988
The Fugitive 10 1993
Pulp Fiction 10 1994
Titanic 10 1997
Remember the Titans 10 2000
Cast Away 10 2000
Ocean's 11 10 2001
Lord of the Rings 10 2001
Crash 10 2005
Casino Royale 10 2006
Home Alone 9 1990
Basic Instinct 9 1992
Jurassic Park 9 1993
Speed 9 1994
Forrest Gump 9 1994
Disclosure 9 1994
The Rock 9 1996
Air Force One 9 1997
Entrapment 9 1999
Mission Impossible 2 9 2000
Miss Congeniality 9 2000
Gladiator 9 2000
Rush Hour 2 9 2001
American Pie 2 9 2001
Lord of the Rings Part 2 9 2002
Catch me if you can 9 2002
The Italian Job 9 2003
Love Actually 9 2003
National Tressure 9 2004
Hotel Rwanda 9 2004
Derailed 9 2005
Coach Carter 9 2005
The Departed 9 2006
The DaVinci Code 9 2006
Goal !!! The Dream Begins 9 2006
déjà vu 9 2006
Blood Diamond 9 2006
Michael Clayton 9 2007
Rain Man 8 1988
Vital Signs 8 1990
Pretty Woman 8 1990
GoodFellas 8 1990
Reservoir Dogs 8 1992
Home Alone 2 8 1992
Schindler's List 8 1993
Rising Sun 8 1993
Philadelphia 8 1993
CliffHanger 8 1993
The Mask 8 1994
The Usual Suspects 8 1995
Seven 8 1995
Die Hard with Vengeance 8 1995
Independence Day 8 1996
Executive Decision 8 1996
Broken Arrow 8 1996
Tomorrow Never Dies 8 1997
The Game 8 1997
Speed 2 8 1997
Face/Off 8 1997
Blue Streak 8 1999
Gone in 60 Seconds 8 2000
Erin Brockovich 8 2000
Swordfish 8 2001
Pearl Harbor 8 2001
A Beautiful Mind 8 2001
The Pianist 8 2002
The Bourne Identity 8 2002
Insomnia 8 2002
Die Another Day 8 2002
Runaway Jury 8 2003
How to loose a guy in 10 days 8 2003
The Terminal 8 2004
The Bourne Supremacy 8 2004
The Aviator 8 2004
Meet the Fockers 8 2004
The Interpreter 8 2005
The Family Stone 8 2005
Hitch 8 2005
The Pursuit of Happyness 8 2006
The Holiday 8 2006
Mission Impossible 3 8 2006
Inside Man 8 2006
Shooter 8 2007
No Country for Old Men 8 2007
Bourne Ultimatum 8 2007
American Gangster 8 2007
Scarface 7 1983
Die Hard 2 7 1990
Terminator 2 7 1991
Under Siege 7 1992
Carlito's Way 7 1993
Heat 7 1995
Crimson Tide 7 1995
Twister 7 1996
Shall We Dance 7 1997
As Good As It Gets 7 1997
U S Marshalls 7 1998
Rush Hour 7 1998
Palmetto 7 1998
Fallen 7 1998
A Perfect Murder 7 1998
The Bone Collector 7 1999
American Pie 7 1999
Vertical Limit 7 2000
Unbreakable 7 2000
U-571 7 2000
The Whole Nine Yards 7 2000
Hollow Man 7 2000
The Fast and the Furious 7 2001
Original Sin 7 2001
Lara Croft 7 2001
K-Pax 7 2001
Heist 7 2001
Enemy at the Gates 7 2001
Black Hawk Down 7 2001
Unfaithful 7 2002
The Recruit 7 2003
Bend it Like Beckham 7 2003
Spider-Man-2 7 2004
Harold and Kumar go to White Castle 7 2004
Cellular 7 2004
After the Sunset 7 2004
Syriana 7 2005
Munich 7 2005
Fun with Dick and Jane 7 2005
Flightplan 7 2005
The Sentinel 7 2006
The Break-Up 7 2006
Invincible 7 2006
Eight Below 7 2006
The Kite Runner 7 2007
Rush Hour 3 7 2007
Oceans 13 7 2007
Live Free or Die Hard 7 2007
Taxi Driver 7
Rambo First Blood 7
Raging Bull 6 1980
Top Gun 6 1986
Licence To Kill 6 1989
The Silence of the Lambs 6 1991
Poison Ivy 6 1992
A Few Good Men 6 1992
Indecent Proposal 6 1993
True Lies 6 1994
Drop Zone 6 1994
Under siege 2 6 1995
The American President 6 1995
Outbreak 6 1995
Friday 6 1995
Bad Boys 6 1995
The Juror 6 1996
Primal Fear 6 1996
Mission Impossible 6 1996
Happy Gilmore 6 1996
My Best Friend's Wedding 6 1997
Murder At 1600 6 1997
Kiss the Girls 6 1997
G I Jane 6 1997
Con Air 6 1997
You've Got Mail 6 1998
There is something about Mary 6 1998
The Negotiator 6 1998
Saving Private Ryan 6 1998
Enemy of the State 6 1998
Deep Impact 6 1998
Armageddon 6 1998
The World is not Enough 6 1999
The Thin Red Line 6 1999
The Mummy 6 1999
Fight Club 6 1999
Arlington Road 6 1999
Any Given Sunday 6 1999
Analyze This 6 1999
The Art of War 6 2000
The Score 6 2001
Spy Game 6 2001
Memento 6 2001
Driven 6 2001
Behind Enemy Lines 6 2001
American Desi 6 2001
Along Came a Spider 6 2001
Trapped 6 2002
SpiderMan 6 2002
Murder by Numbers 6 2002
Phone Booth 6 2003
Lord of the Rings Part-3 6 2003
Identity 6 2003
Basic 6 2003
Anger Management 6 2003
2 Fast 2 Furious 6 2003
Ocean's Twelve 6 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 6 2004
Two for the Money 6 2005
The Island 6 2005
Sahara 6 2005
Rumor Has It 6 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Smith 6 2005
King Kong 6 2005
You,Me and Dupree 6 2006
The Lake House 6 2006
Failure to Launch 6 2006
Basic Instinct 2 6 2006
16 Blocks 6 2006
The Namesake 6 2007
The Great Debaters 6 2007
SpiderMan -3 6 2007
National Tressure: Part 2 6 2007
Lions for Lambs 6 2007
Commando 5 1985
Fatal Attraction 5 1987
Total Recall 5 1990
Ghost 5 1990
Sleeping With the Enemy 5 1991
Unlawful Entry 5 1992
Universal Soldier 5 1992
The Bodyguard 5 1992
Sleepless in seattle 5 1993
Rudy 5 1993
A Bronx's Tale 5 1993
The Specialist 5 1994
The Client 5 1994
Casino 5 1995
Brave Heart 5 1995
Phenomenon 5 1996
One Fine Day 5 1996
Eraser 5 1996
A Time To Kill 5 1996
Seven Years in Tibet 5 1997
Kama Sutra 5 1997
Fools Rush In 5 1997
Dante's Peak 5 1997
Step Mom 5 1998
Ronin 5 1998
The Sixth Sense 5 1999
The Insider 5 1999
The Green Mile 5 1999
The General's Daughter 5 1999
Cruel Intentions 5 1999
American Beauty 5 1999
Play it to the Bone 5 2000
Charlie's Angels 5 2000
Training Day 5 2001
3000 Miles to Graceland 5 2001
15 Minutes 5 2001
Signs 5 2002
Serving Sara 5 2002
The Life of David Gale 5 2003
Terminator 3 5 2003
Lara Croft 2 5 2003
Cheaper by the Dozen 5 2003
Bad Boys 2 5 2003
Troy 5 2004
Ladder 49 5 2004
Collateral 5 2004
Rebound 5 2005
Poseidon 5 2005
Into the Blue 5 2005
Fantastic Four 5 2005
Cindrella Man 5 2005
We are marshall 5 2006
The Devil Wears Prada 5 2006
Take the Lead 5 2006
Miami Vice 5 2006
Firewall 5 2006
Click 5 2006
Catch a Fire 5 2006
Babel 5 2006
Smoking Aces 5 2007
Perfect Stranger 5 2007
Ghost Rider 5 2007
Miami Blues 4 1990
Not Without My Daughter 4 1991
Passenger 57 4 1992
Intersection 4 1994
Desperado 4 1995
Dangerous Minds 4 1995
Jerry Mcguire 4 1996
Courage Under Fire 4 1996
LA Confidential 4 1997
Six Days Seven Nights 4 1998
The Gift 4 2000
Romeo Must Die 4 2000
Legally Blonde 4 2001
The Four Feathers 4 2002
Monsoon Wedding 4 2002
40 Days and 40 Nights 4 2002
School of Rock 4 2003
The Manchurian Candidate 4 2004
The Flight of the Phoenix 4 2004
Million Dollar Baby 4 2004
Employee of the Month 4 2004
Matador 4 2005
Hostage 4 2005
The Prestige 4 2006
Superman Returns 4 2006
Perfume 4 2006
My Super Ex-Girlfriend 4 2006
Lucky Number Slevin 4 2006
Annapolis 4 2006
The Last Legion 4 2007
Reign Over Me 4 2007
Good Luck Chuck 4 2007
Gone Baby Gone 4 2007
Fracture 4 2007
2 Days in Paris 4 2007
Cocktail 3 1988
Mississippi Masala 3 1992
Fire 3 1996
How Stella got her grove back 3 1998
The Replacements 3 2000
Two Weeks Notice 3 2002
The Last Samurai 3 2003
Something's Gotta Give 3 2003
Kill Bill 1 3 2003
Cradle 2 the crave 3 2003
Ray 3 2004
The Weather Man 3 2005
The 40 Year Old Virgin 3 2005
Monster In-Law 3 2005
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 3 2005
Cheaper by the dozen -2 3 2005
An Unfinished Life 3 2005
Waist Deep 3 2006
V for Vendetta 3 2006
United 93 3 2006
The Queen 3 2006
The Good Shepherd 3 2006
The Fast and Furious-Tokyo Drift3 2006
Little Man 3 2006
John Tucker Must Die 3 2006
Borat 3 2006
Bobby 3 2006
We Own the night 3 2007
Pride 3 2007
I now pronounce you chuch and larry3 2007
I am Legend 3 2007
Bhav Ni Bhavai 2 1980
Great Balls of Fire 2 1989
Gangs of Newyork 2 2002
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman2 2003
Lost in Translation 2 2003
Boat Trip 2 2003
Bride and Prejudice 2 2005
World Trade Center 2 2006
Gridiron Gang 2 2006
The Golden Compass 2 2007
Because I said so 2 2007
Big 1 1988
Shop Girl 1 2005
Match Point 1 2005
Step-Up 1 2006
The Darjeeling Limited 1 2007
Music and Lyrics 1 2007
MARKS DESCRIPTION
10 Comes in Top 10/BEST
9 Comes in Top 50/Better
8 Comes in Top 100/Worth Watching it, It was GOOD
7 Liked the Movie, Can Watch More Than Two Times
6 Worth watching it First Time, Can Watch Second Time
5 It was Okay.
4 I was able to Complete the Movie.
3 Watch it till I knew, I gotto Stop watching it.
2 Couldn'd Finish even the half an hour
1 Nah !!! Its Bad.
Movie Name Marks (Out of 10) YEAR
God Father I/II 10 1975
Die Hard 10 1988
The Fugitive 10 1993
Pulp Fiction 10 1994
Titanic 10 1997
Remember the Titans 10 2000
Cast Away 10 2000
Ocean's 11 10 2001
Lord of the Rings 10 2001
Crash 10 2005
Casino Royale 10 2006
Home Alone 9 1990
Basic Instinct 9 1992
Jurassic Park 9 1993
Speed 9 1994
Forrest Gump 9 1994
Disclosure 9 1994
The Rock 9 1996
Air Force One 9 1997
Entrapment 9 1999
Mission Impossible 2 9 2000
Miss Congeniality 9 2000
Gladiator 9 2000
Rush Hour 2 9 2001
American Pie 2 9 2001
Lord of the Rings Part 2 9 2002
Catch me if you can 9 2002
The Italian Job 9 2003
Love Actually 9 2003
National Tressure 9 2004
Hotel Rwanda 9 2004
Derailed 9 2005
Coach Carter 9 2005
The Departed 9 2006
The DaVinci Code 9 2006
Goal !!! The Dream Begins 9 2006
déjà vu 9 2006
Blood Diamond 9 2006
Michael Clayton 9 2007
Rain Man 8 1988
Vital Signs 8 1990
Pretty Woman 8 1990
GoodFellas 8 1990
Reservoir Dogs 8 1992
Home Alone 2 8 1992
Schindler's List 8 1993
Rising Sun 8 1993
Philadelphia 8 1993
CliffHanger 8 1993
The Mask 8 1994
The Usual Suspects 8 1995
Seven 8 1995
Die Hard with Vengeance 8 1995
Independence Day 8 1996
Executive Decision 8 1996
Broken Arrow 8 1996
Tomorrow Never Dies 8 1997
The Game 8 1997
Speed 2 8 1997
Face/Off 8 1997
Blue Streak 8 1999
Gone in 60 Seconds 8 2000
Erin Brockovich 8 2000
Swordfish 8 2001
Pearl Harbor 8 2001
A Beautiful Mind 8 2001
The Pianist 8 2002
The Bourne Identity 8 2002
Insomnia 8 2002
Die Another Day 8 2002
Runaway Jury 8 2003
How to loose a guy in 10 days 8 2003
The Terminal 8 2004
The Bourne Supremacy 8 2004
The Aviator 8 2004
Meet the Fockers 8 2004
The Interpreter 8 2005
The Family Stone 8 2005
Hitch 8 2005
The Pursuit of Happyness 8 2006
The Holiday 8 2006
Mission Impossible 3 8 2006
Inside Man 8 2006
Shooter 8 2007
No Country for Old Men 8 2007
Bourne Ultimatum 8 2007
American Gangster 8 2007
Scarface 7 1983
Die Hard 2 7 1990
Terminator 2 7 1991
Under Siege 7 1992
Carlito's Way 7 1993
Heat 7 1995
Crimson Tide 7 1995
Twister 7 1996
Shall We Dance 7 1997
As Good As It Gets 7 1997
U S Marshalls 7 1998
Rush Hour 7 1998
Palmetto 7 1998
Fallen 7 1998
A Perfect Murder 7 1998
The Bone Collector 7 1999
American Pie 7 1999
Vertical Limit 7 2000
Unbreakable 7 2000
U-571 7 2000
The Whole Nine Yards 7 2000
Hollow Man 7 2000
The Fast and the Furious 7 2001
Original Sin 7 2001
Lara Croft 7 2001
K-Pax 7 2001
Heist 7 2001
Enemy at the Gates 7 2001
Black Hawk Down 7 2001
Unfaithful 7 2002
The Recruit 7 2003
Bend it Like Beckham 7 2003
Spider-Man-2 7 2004
Harold and Kumar go to White Castle 7 2004
Cellular 7 2004
After the Sunset 7 2004
Syriana 7 2005
Munich 7 2005
Fun with Dick and Jane 7 2005
Flightplan 7 2005
The Sentinel 7 2006
The Break-Up 7 2006
Invincible 7 2006
Eight Below 7 2006
The Kite Runner 7 2007
Rush Hour 3 7 2007
Oceans 13 7 2007
Live Free or Die Hard 7 2007
Taxi Driver 7
Rambo First Blood 7
Raging Bull 6 1980
Top Gun 6 1986
Licence To Kill 6 1989
The Silence of the Lambs 6 1991
Poison Ivy 6 1992
A Few Good Men 6 1992
Indecent Proposal 6 1993
True Lies 6 1994
Drop Zone 6 1994
Under siege 2 6 1995
The American President 6 1995
Outbreak 6 1995
Friday 6 1995
Bad Boys 6 1995
The Juror 6 1996
Primal Fear 6 1996
Mission Impossible 6 1996
Happy Gilmore 6 1996
My Best Friend's Wedding 6 1997
Murder At 1600 6 1997
Kiss the Girls 6 1997
G I Jane 6 1997
Con Air 6 1997
You've Got Mail 6 1998
There is something about Mary 6 1998
The Negotiator 6 1998
Saving Private Ryan 6 1998
Enemy of the State 6 1998
Deep Impact 6 1998
Armageddon 6 1998
The World is not Enough 6 1999
The Thin Red Line 6 1999
The Mummy 6 1999
Fight Club 6 1999
Arlington Road 6 1999
Any Given Sunday 6 1999
Analyze This 6 1999
The Art of War 6 2000
The Score 6 2001
Spy Game 6 2001
Memento 6 2001
Driven 6 2001
Behind Enemy Lines 6 2001
American Desi 6 2001
Along Came a Spider 6 2001
Trapped 6 2002
SpiderMan 6 2002
Murder by Numbers 6 2002
Phone Booth 6 2003
Lord of the Rings Part-3 6 2003
Identity 6 2003
Basic 6 2003
Anger Management 6 2003
2 Fast 2 Furious 6 2003
Ocean's Twelve 6 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 6 2004
Two for the Money 6 2005
The Island 6 2005
Sahara 6 2005
Rumor Has It 6 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Smith 6 2005
King Kong 6 2005
You,Me and Dupree 6 2006
The Lake House 6 2006
Failure to Launch 6 2006
Basic Instinct 2 6 2006
16 Blocks 6 2006
The Namesake 6 2007
The Great Debaters 6 2007
SpiderMan -3 6 2007
National Tressure: Part 2 6 2007
Lions for Lambs 6 2007
Commando 5 1985
Fatal Attraction 5 1987
Total Recall 5 1990
Ghost 5 1990
Sleeping With the Enemy 5 1991
Unlawful Entry 5 1992
Universal Soldier 5 1992
The Bodyguard 5 1992
Sleepless in seattle 5 1993
Rudy 5 1993
A Bronx's Tale 5 1993
The Specialist 5 1994
The Client 5 1994
Casino 5 1995
Brave Heart 5 1995
Phenomenon 5 1996
One Fine Day 5 1996
Eraser 5 1996
A Time To Kill 5 1996
Seven Years in Tibet 5 1997
Kama Sutra 5 1997
Fools Rush In 5 1997
Dante's Peak 5 1997
Step Mom 5 1998
Ronin 5 1998
The Sixth Sense 5 1999
The Insider 5 1999
The Green Mile 5 1999
The General's Daughter 5 1999
Cruel Intentions 5 1999
American Beauty 5 1999
Play it to the Bone 5 2000
Charlie's Angels 5 2000
Training Day 5 2001
3000 Miles to Graceland 5 2001
15 Minutes 5 2001
Signs 5 2002
Serving Sara 5 2002
The Life of David Gale 5 2003
Terminator 3 5 2003
Lara Croft 2 5 2003
Cheaper by the Dozen 5 2003
Bad Boys 2 5 2003
Troy 5 2004
Ladder 49 5 2004
Collateral 5 2004
Rebound 5 2005
Poseidon 5 2005
Into the Blue 5 2005
Fantastic Four 5 2005
Cindrella Man 5 2005
We are marshall 5 2006
The Devil Wears Prada 5 2006
Take the Lead 5 2006
Miami Vice 5 2006
Firewall 5 2006
Click 5 2006
Catch a Fire 5 2006
Babel 5 2006
Smoking Aces 5 2007
Perfect Stranger 5 2007
Ghost Rider 5 2007
Miami Blues 4 1990
Not Without My Daughter 4 1991
Passenger 57 4 1992
Intersection 4 1994
Desperado 4 1995
Dangerous Minds 4 1995
Jerry Mcguire 4 1996
Courage Under Fire 4 1996
LA Confidential 4 1997
Six Days Seven Nights 4 1998
The Gift 4 2000
Romeo Must Die 4 2000
Legally Blonde 4 2001
The Four Feathers 4 2002
Monsoon Wedding 4 2002
40 Days and 40 Nights 4 2002
School of Rock 4 2003
The Manchurian Candidate 4 2004
The Flight of the Phoenix 4 2004
Million Dollar Baby 4 2004
Employee of the Month 4 2004
Matador 4 2005
Hostage 4 2005
The Prestige 4 2006
Superman Returns 4 2006
Perfume 4 2006
My Super Ex-Girlfriend 4 2006
Lucky Number Slevin 4 2006
Annapolis 4 2006
The Last Legion 4 2007
Reign Over Me 4 2007
Good Luck Chuck 4 2007
Gone Baby Gone 4 2007
Fracture 4 2007
2 Days in Paris 4 2007
Cocktail 3 1988
Mississippi Masala 3 1992
Fire 3 1996
How Stella got her grove back 3 1998
The Replacements 3 2000
Two Weeks Notice 3 2002
The Last Samurai 3 2003
Something's Gotta Give 3 2003
Kill Bill 1 3 2003
Cradle 2 the crave 3 2003
Ray 3 2004
The Weather Man 3 2005
The 40 Year Old Virgin 3 2005
Monster In-Law 3 2005
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 3 2005
Cheaper by the dozen -2 3 2005
An Unfinished Life 3 2005
Waist Deep 3 2006
V for Vendetta 3 2006
United 93 3 2006
The Queen 3 2006
The Good Shepherd 3 2006
The Fast and Furious-Tokyo Drift3 2006
Little Man 3 2006
John Tucker Must Die 3 2006
Borat 3 2006
Bobby 3 2006
We Own the night 3 2007
Pride 3 2007
I now pronounce you chuch and larry3 2007
I am Legend 3 2007
Bhav Ni Bhavai 2 1980
Great Balls of Fire 2 1989
Gangs of Newyork 2 2002
The League of Extraordinary Gentleman2 2003
Lost in Translation 2 2003
Boat Trip 2 2003
Bride and Prejudice 2 2005
World Trade Center 2 2006
Gridiron Gang 2 2006
The Golden Compass 2 2007
Because I said so 2 2007
Big 1 1988
Shop Girl 1 2005
Match Point 1 2005
Step-Up 1 2006
The Darjeeling Limited 1 2007
Music and Lyrics 1 2007
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Mumbai Indians
It has been ages since I have wrote. I actually wrote couple of blogs but didnt felt to publish it for some reason.
I definately wanted to post my views on IPL 1, but missed it dearly.
As far as IPL 2 is concerned, following are more thoughts on Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians will be very strong team in the second IPL.
With Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasurya opening the inning. Robin Uthappa will continue to play @ number 3 unless and until, There will be a deal to transfer him to Bangalore his home team). But In Return, Ambani would like to take a very bright prospect. May be a 3 way deal of Uthapa going to bangalore and Kallis goes to Hyderabad and Rohit Sharma goes to Mumbai.
But Surely, Mumbai Indians would not allow Uthapa to go unless they are getting equally talented Rohit Sharma back.
Also, Talks are already on to get Kevin Pieterson for Mumbai Indians to make the batting line up strong.
This will make 5 Strong Batsmen for mumbai Indians : Tendulkar/Jayasurya/Uthapa/Nayar/Pieterson.
However, what makes Mumbai Indians more strong is the number 6 and 7. Bravo and Pollock are the best possible all rounder that any team can get and that will make the team's batting line up very very strong.
2 Other Indian Bowlers would be Harbhajan Singh and Aashish Nehra. There might be a transfer chances for Harbhajan Singh to Punjab, his home team, however, having Sreesanth in the Punjab team would make this deal go wrong. But Piyush Chawla for Harbhajan Singh is something that Mumbai Indians could settle for.
Also, Nehra would be a great partner for McGrath in Delhi but Delhi has very little thing to offer to Mumbai Indians. Plus Nehra did phenomenal job with Mumbai Indians and his left arm fast bowling is the best possible option for Mumbai Indians.
All in All: with 9 good players in the team and couple of youngstars like Kulkarni and Raje and Takawale and P. Shah will make a very strong team.
There is enough depth in the bowling line up with the return of specialist spinner, Harbhajan Singh.
Pollock and Nehra were outstanding with new ball bowling. Bravo when he was there was quiet good first change bowler. In the Middle Overs, Bhajji's wicket taking ability will give them the edge and plus there is experience of Jayasurya for couple of overs in case, Kulkarni or Raje fall apart.
If Pollock or Bravo, gets injured, There is a good back up in the name of Malinga and Andre Nell and Fernando.
However, The Only drawback that I could see rightnow is the old age of Jayasurya/Tendulkar and Pollock. This game 20-20 is made for young people. Not only that they dont have the back up plan for Jayasurya/Tendulkar or one of them getting injured but also they are not greatest in the field. Ofcourse add Tendulkar's leadership to it, and same old 1998 going to the bowler for each and every ball would shut down the confidence level.
Although, this transition (going my age from 20's to 30's) have changed me to more SRK fan than Aamir Fan, one thing has not changed, I still hate Sachin Tendulkar and specially his captain skills. When the team needs you the most, when the expectations are sky high, Whether it is 1999 Super Six stage or IPL first league this guy gets out.
I definately wanted to post my views on IPL 1, but missed it dearly.
As far as IPL 2 is concerned, following are more thoughts on Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians will be very strong team in the second IPL.
With Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasurya opening the inning. Robin Uthappa will continue to play @ number 3 unless and until, There will be a deal to transfer him to Bangalore his home team). But In Return, Ambani would like to take a very bright prospect. May be a 3 way deal of Uthapa going to bangalore and Kallis goes to Hyderabad and Rohit Sharma goes to Mumbai.
But Surely, Mumbai Indians would not allow Uthapa to go unless they are getting equally talented Rohit Sharma back.
Also, Talks are already on to get Kevin Pieterson for Mumbai Indians to make the batting line up strong.
This will make 5 Strong Batsmen for mumbai Indians : Tendulkar/Jayasurya/Uthapa/Nayar/Pieterson.
However, what makes Mumbai Indians more strong is the number 6 and 7. Bravo and Pollock are the best possible all rounder that any team can get and that will make the team's batting line up very very strong.
2 Other Indian Bowlers would be Harbhajan Singh and Aashish Nehra. There might be a transfer chances for Harbhajan Singh to Punjab, his home team, however, having Sreesanth in the Punjab team would make this deal go wrong. But Piyush Chawla for Harbhajan Singh is something that Mumbai Indians could settle for.
Also, Nehra would be a great partner for McGrath in Delhi but Delhi has very little thing to offer to Mumbai Indians. Plus Nehra did phenomenal job with Mumbai Indians and his left arm fast bowling is the best possible option for Mumbai Indians.
All in All: with 9 good players in the team and couple of youngstars like Kulkarni and Raje and Takawale and P. Shah will make a very strong team.
There is enough depth in the bowling line up with the return of specialist spinner, Harbhajan Singh.
Pollock and Nehra were outstanding with new ball bowling. Bravo when he was there was quiet good first change bowler. In the Middle Overs, Bhajji's wicket taking ability will give them the edge and plus there is experience of Jayasurya for couple of overs in case, Kulkarni or Raje fall apart.
If Pollock or Bravo, gets injured, There is a good back up in the name of Malinga and Andre Nell and Fernando.
However, The Only drawback that I could see rightnow is the old age of Jayasurya/Tendulkar and Pollock. This game 20-20 is made for young people. Not only that they dont have the back up plan for Jayasurya/Tendulkar or one of them getting injured but also they are not greatest in the field. Ofcourse add Tendulkar's leadership to it, and same old 1998 going to the bowler for each and every ball would shut down the confidence level.
Although, this transition (going my age from 20's to 30's) have changed me to more SRK fan than Aamir Fan, one thing has not changed, I still hate Sachin Tendulkar and specially his captain skills. When the team needs you the most, when the expectations are sky high, Whether it is 1999 Super Six stage or IPL first league this guy gets out.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Cricket_Team
The Test series is almost getting over and Indian Selectors must be getting ready to name the squad for the One Dayers against Australia.
Personally, in the entire series against, England and Pakistan, I observed, Wasim Jaffer scored most of his runs when the bowlers were aiming for his stumps. He is a good on side player and rely heavily on the fact that, Bowlers in order to get him out, will be aiming for the stumps. however, Australians were prepared and very methodical to get him out. They didnt gave him any opportunity to score runs on the on side and he had to force the issue by playing the ball tentatively outside the off stump.
After Watching the Yuvraj bat in the first test match, I think, Indian Think tank missed the chance of resting him and going for an extra bowler. Ideally,
Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman (key # 3), tendulkar, ganguly, dhoni, pathan, kumble, bhajji, rp and ishant would have contructed the best possible XI within the squad given.
I wonder, down the years, that is after 5 years when India would be touring the Australia..India would be without, Jaffer,Tendulkar, Laxman, dravid and Ganguly, perhaps without Sehwag as well. India would go in with allmost the new batting line up...Likes of Badrinath or Raina or Rohit Sharma and of course, Yuvraj Singh. It would be great, if Indian Selectors send this youngstars to go to Australia with India A team to get more and more experience of playing in Australia. One Day Series would be a good start.
However, there is no point in looking back, Time is now for the selectors not to make the mistakes for the one-dayers. Although, Dravid has gained lot of confidence and it would be mistake to drop the capable player like him out, however, in order to look @ the future, it is very necessary that, Team India go for the youth in the middle order.
It is almost certain that, Tendulkar and Ganguly would be opening the inning unless and until any one of them is injured. Down the years, I would probably guess, Sehwag and Gambhir would take over from them. It is also certain that, Yuvraj and Dhoni would be our number 4 and number 5 batsman. This leaves, key number 3 position open. Ideally...Gambhir would fit in but I sincerely feel, Rohit Sharma should be given a chance to take that position. This is a time to develop the youngstars and India do not get much opportunity to play in Australia. I feel, we should keep, Gambhir and Sehwag in the reserve and gave them games by resting Tendulkar or Ganguly in every other games.
So, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni (would be top 5) with Gambhir and Sehwag in the Reserve.
Before discussing 6,7 and 8. Lets Finalize 9 10 and 11. Number 9 would be certainly for the spinner in the team. Most Likely it will be Harbhajan Singh. But we should also give Piyush Chawla few games. This will keep Bhajji on the toes and on the tracks, like Sydney or Hobart where it is more spinner friendly tracks, should give Chawla a go. As far as number 10 and 11 is concerned, RP Singh is a must and most likely will be there since Zaheer Khan is injured. To give him the Company, Front Runner would be Sreesanth. As far as thinking of the reserved fast bowler is concerned, India should persist with Ishant Sharma.
Talking about number 6, 7 and 8; One man is confirmed that is Irfan Pathan. now who could be at number 6 and 8 depends upon lot of factors. Pitch Conditions, Captains Choice, Opposition's Game Plan, Coach's Idea and Selectors Pressure. There is no harm in giving the reserve a chance. For Example: if the pitch is assisting the pace bowlers, go in with Ishant Sharma. If Pitch is offering a bit of turn, Go in with two spinners. If the Pitch is ideal for batting, Go in with Sehwag @ number 6. But With Pathan to be sure @ number 7, Either India may go with Sehwag @ number 6 or Spinner/Bowler @ number 8 but not both. This would give a chance or opening for another youngstar a chance. Praveen Kumar is performing nicely in the domestic cricket as an All Rounder and might be a good fit in number 8 position. Perhaps, Robin Uthapa deserve another chance to establish himself at number 6.
In a nutshell, my squad would be: (with playing XI as first XI)
Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sharma, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Sehwag, Pathan, P.Kumar, Harbhajan, Sreesanth and R P Singh.
Reserves: Gambhir, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, S.Badrinath.
*********************************************************************
This was my e mail to the ICC to solve the Elite Umpire Problems.
There was a discussion going on about the 8 Elite Umpires and lot of cricket. I have a solution where ICC has to make couple of rule change.
1. Keep the Local Umpires (both of them from the home side) on the field with Elite Umpire sitting as the Third Umpire. Third Umpire will hold the key and will be the final decision maker of all the decisions. Instead of On Field Umpires contacting him, He will have the Power to Contact the On Field Umpires whenever they make the mistakes.
Advantage of this method.
1. It will not tire the small panel of Elite Umpires. This will make their work load by half.
2. It will give lot of exposure to the Home Side Umpires and over the years more and more Umpire will be developed who can be drafted into the Elite Panel.
3. Although, It may appear that it will be advantage to the Home Team, since, they have their own umpires but giving the key and all the Power to the Third Umpire, there are more likely to be less umpiring mistakes.
4. This Umpire will be more active.
5. Current Problem of ICC, that they do not have good enough Umpires to put into Elite League would start to go away over the years to come.
Personally, in the entire series against, England and Pakistan, I observed, Wasim Jaffer scored most of his runs when the bowlers were aiming for his stumps. He is a good on side player and rely heavily on the fact that, Bowlers in order to get him out, will be aiming for the stumps. however, Australians were prepared and very methodical to get him out. They didnt gave him any opportunity to score runs on the on side and he had to force the issue by playing the ball tentatively outside the off stump.
After Watching the Yuvraj bat in the first test match, I think, Indian Think tank missed the chance of resting him and going for an extra bowler. Ideally,
Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman (key # 3), tendulkar, ganguly, dhoni, pathan, kumble, bhajji, rp and ishant would have contructed the best possible XI within the squad given.
I wonder, down the years, that is after 5 years when India would be touring the Australia..India would be without, Jaffer,Tendulkar, Laxman, dravid and Ganguly, perhaps without Sehwag as well. India would go in with allmost the new batting line up...Likes of Badrinath or Raina or Rohit Sharma and of course, Yuvraj Singh. It would be great, if Indian Selectors send this youngstars to go to Australia with India A team to get more and more experience of playing in Australia. One Day Series would be a good start.
However, there is no point in looking back, Time is now for the selectors not to make the mistakes for the one-dayers. Although, Dravid has gained lot of confidence and it would be mistake to drop the capable player like him out, however, in order to look @ the future, it is very necessary that, Team India go for the youth in the middle order.
It is almost certain that, Tendulkar and Ganguly would be opening the inning unless and until any one of them is injured. Down the years, I would probably guess, Sehwag and Gambhir would take over from them. It is also certain that, Yuvraj and Dhoni would be our number 4 and number 5 batsman. This leaves, key number 3 position open. Ideally...Gambhir would fit in but I sincerely feel, Rohit Sharma should be given a chance to take that position. This is a time to develop the youngstars and India do not get much opportunity to play in Australia. I feel, we should keep, Gambhir and Sehwag in the reserve and gave them games by resting Tendulkar or Ganguly in every other games.
So, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni (would be top 5) with Gambhir and Sehwag in the Reserve.
Before discussing 6,7 and 8. Lets Finalize 9 10 and 11. Number 9 would be certainly for the spinner in the team. Most Likely it will be Harbhajan Singh. But we should also give Piyush Chawla few games. This will keep Bhajji on the toes and on the tracks, like Sydney or Hobart where it is more spinner friendly tracks, should give Chawla a go. As far as number 10 and 11 is concerned, RP Singh is a must and most likely will be there since Zaheer Khan is injured. To give him the Company, Front Runner would be Sreesanth. As far as thinking of the reserved fast bowler is concerned, India should persist with Ishant Sharma.
Talking about number 6, 7 and 8; One man is confirmed that is Irfan Pathan. now who could be at number 6 and 8 depends upon lot of factors. Pitch Conditions, Captains Choice, Opposition's Game Plan, Coach's Idea and Selectors Pressure. There is no harm in giving the reserve a chance. For Example: if the pitch is assisting the pace bowlers, go in with Ishant Sharma. If Pitch is offering a bit of turn, Go in with two spinners. If the Pitch is ideal for batting, Go in with Sehwag @ number 6. But With Pathan to be sure @ number 7, Either India may go with Sehwag @ number 6 or Spinner/Bowler @ number 8 but not both. This would give a chance or opening for another youngstar a chance. Praveen Kumar is performing nicely in the domestic cricket as an All Rounder and might be a good fit in number 8 position. Perhaps, Robin Uthapa deserve another chance to establish himself at number 6.
In a nutshell, my squad would be: (with playing XI as first XI)
Tendulkar, Ganguly, Sharma, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Sehwag, Pathan, P.Kumar, Harbhajan, Sreesanth and R P Singh.
Reserves: Gambhir, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, S.Badrinath.
*********************************************************************
This was my e mail to the ICC to solve the Elite Umpire Problems.
There was a discussion going on about the 8 Elite Umpires and lot of cricket. I have a solution where ICC has to make couple of rule change.
1. Keep the Local Umpires (both of them from the home side) on the field with Elite Umpire sitting as the Third Umpire. Third Umpire will hold the key and will be the final decision maker of all the decisions. Instead of On Field Umpires contacting him, He will have the Power to Contact the On Field Umpires whenever they make the mistakes.
Advantage of this method.
1. It will not tire the small panel of Elite Umpires. This will make their work load by half.
2. It will give lot of exposure to the Home Side Umpires and over the years more and more Umpire will be developed who can be drafted into the Elite Panel.
3. Although, It may appear that it will be advantage to the Home Team, since, they have their own umpires but giving the key and all the Power to the Third Umpire, there are more likely to be less umpiring mistakes.
4. This Umpire will be more active.
5. Current Problem of ICC, that they do not have good enough Umpires to put into Elite League would start to go away over the years to come.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Movies_2007
When the last month of year 2007 came, I thought I must have saw about 20 movies in theater. I normally plan to watch couple of movies in theater a month which makes it 24. However, to my surprise, when I counted this year, I saw only 12 movies in the Theater.
Movies That I saw in Theater:
Om Shanti Om *****
Chak De India ****
Partner ***
Guru ****
Heyy Babyy ****
Bhool Bhulaiyaa *****
Tara Rum Pum **
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal *
Namastey London **
Dhamaal **
Salaam-e-Ishq ***
Naqaab **
Movies that I saw in DVD/TV/Laptop:
Life in a Metro
Aap ka Surroor
Jab We Met
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Saawariya
Eklavya – the Royal Guard
Cheeni Kum
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Cash
Apne
Dhol
Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd
Traffic Signal
Bheja Fry
Aawarapan
The Namesake
Dus Kahaniyan
Nishabd
Johnny Gaddar
Just Married
Dil Dosti Etc
The Train
Risk
Kaafila
Go
Manorama Six Feet Under
Good Boy Bad Boy
Yet To See This Movies:
Taare Zameen Par
Welcome
Shoot Out @ Lokhandwala
Aaja Nachle
Fool n Final
Black Friday
Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag
Gandhi My Father
Khoya Khoya Chand
Darling
Ek Chalis ki Last Local
Dhokha
50 Lakh
Rated Movies (Based on what I saw): (TZP and Welcome cant be the part of list as I have not yet watched them)
Om Shanti Om
Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Guru
Chak De India
Heyy Babyy
Salam e Ishq
Cheeni Kum
Life in a Metro
Jab We Met
The Namesake
Partner
Manorama Six Feet Under
Johnny Gaddar
Namastey London
Dhol
Dhamaal
Eklavya- The Royal Guard
Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd
Dil Dosti Etc
Naqaab
Risk
Apne
Just Married
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
Dus Kahaniyan
Ta Ra Rum Pum
Zhoom Barabar Jhoom
Aawarapan
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
Cash
The Train
Saawariya
Good Boy Bad Boy
The Train
Nishabd
Go
Kaafila (Worst Movie of the Year)
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