PRG's Thoughts

So, Nadal is out of the French Open in the 4th round. I think we all are shocked to say the least. You have to hand it to Soderling, he played phenomenally. Anyway, this post is not about the match, I hardly have the qualifications to analyze what went wrong with the world # 1. This post is about the chatter of the tennis world for the last year on how Roger Federer has "lost it" and the maddening analysis of Roger's demise from # 1 all the way down to # 2, a huge drop. I have had my views on this for some time now but never written about it. Something about Rafa's loss (on clay) today inspired me to sit and type it out. Firstly, let me say that this is probably the only great rivalry where I have not hated one of people involved. I am a die hard Roger Federer fan but can't help liking Nadal as well. His game, movement on the court and some of the shots he hits leave you stunned in amazement. The best part about him is his attitude and the respect he shows every p...

I read a friends status update on Facebook that said that he doesn't follow football but still hates Manchester United, and he didn't know why. Where does that hatred come from? Why do certain teams or sportsman create that level of hatred among sports fans even when they don't follow that particular sport? There is no clear cut explanation but I am going to try to offer my view on it, please comment and offer your own. The first point that I can think of is the Dynasty Factor . Sports fans either hate dynasties or love them. Teams that have historically won, been champions repeatedly, and basically always dominated manage to build a brand of hatred. Take the New York Yankees or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, people love to hate these teams. Why? Because irrespective of how these teams seasons are going, they will be more in the news than your own team. Fans of other teams whine, "Who cares about Notre Dame, they suck this year." It doesn't matter guys, they w...

The IPL II came and went before we even realized. I can't believe it is over so quickly. I feel like I was just getting in to it and then suddenly we were at the final. Anyways, here are some stray ones on the event, all random and in no order as usual.  The Favorites - This is the second year in a row that the least favored team has won. This is good news for KKR for next year. Just goes to show that the pundits, bookies, bloggers :-) and whoever else don't know anything. T20 is going to be a sport where anyone can just show up and win. Can you imagine the least favored person ever winning a tennis Grand Slam or a Formula One Race? The IPL has given us that shock value two years in a row.  Mumbai Indians were terrible-  They were the 4th favorite team going in to the tournament and man did they disappoint. They had just 2 more wins than KKR. And KKR lost one match to a super over and one match on the last ball. Just saying guys, that a few shots or edges here or there and the ...

The Left is gone the Left is gone. My flu is still here but the Left is gone. And if I had to choose between tolerating a fever for a few more days or tolerating the Left for a few more years I would choose the former. Here are some initial thoughts on the results, the winners, losers and the lessons we learned. I would love some comments here, because I could be way off the mark in my assessments and would love to get your perspective. Here we go  Yay for Stability - As I mentioned in my last blog I was alright with either the UPA or NDA coming in to power, but was only concerned about the partners they would have to choose. The Congress' performance took that concern and flung it out of the window. We will now have a stable government. And with no Left holding a gun to their head every time they want to do anything progressive, the UPA will be able to govern freely and hopefully implement some economic policies that the Left would not let them. The Congress - Whether you like the...

As I sit here at home with fever that is always on the move from 102 to 99 and then back up to 102.5, I notice that my fever is as inconsistent as the exit polls that are being shown on the news. UPA with 200+ seats and another channel with NDA with 200+. Then you turn it on a little later and the numbers have been reversed. The seat counting will end tomorrow, as I hope will my battle with the flu.   A lot of scenarios are being presented for what will happen in the next few days. The range of possibilities being shown is so wide that the number of Prime Ministerial candidates is more than the number of different opening batsman that the Mumbai Indians are trying out. Anyone could be PM.  But all said and done, at the moment, most people will say that either the UPA or NDA will form the government NO THIRD FRONT. Thank God for that one. Knowing that the third front will not come in to power is a major relief. And frankly, I am alright with either the UPA or the NDA. Yet, there still i...

Small tidbits of news that kept me entertained the last few days. Slumdog Kids, more election banter, IPL and sports in general. Random thoughts with no real focus. Did you hear about the Slumdog Kids? They excelled in their exams ...YAY!!!....... Frankly, who gives a sh*t. I don't mean to be rude to the kids, they were the best part of the movie, but seriously, I don't care how they scored in their exams. More importantly, by printing the exam results of these kids the press is really invading in to their privacy. Leave them alone guys, its not fair and its quite boring to read too. Let them lead their lives. How would you like it if your kids exam results were printed in the paper? Rahul Gandhi got himself in a nice little soup with the press conference the other day. He managed to offend some of the Congress's allies. Now Congress party members are saying he will not be part of the post-poll alliance discussions. Wow, threw the bugger under the bus right away huh Congr...

The great thing about a democracy is that you get what you vote for. There is no confusion, no way around it, no way to say that this person should not be our leader. You get what you deserve. In India's case this applies as well. We get what we deserve. And with only 41.28% of Mumbai's voters coming out to vote on April 30th, we are going to get what we deserve again. 41.28%? Is that even a number? I was out of town this weekend (I left after voting) when a friend messaged me the turnout. I was disgusted. This is the same city that fed the country bull sh** about how we need change, how it is time for citizens to come out and take a stand, make a difference, be the change...What a crock of nonsense that was from the citizens of Mumbai. You know what the change was? 41.28% voted on April 30th which is less than the 47.15% that voted in 2004.  I am from South Mumbai, born and raised, and I have to say, we Mumbaikars are pathetic. You remember the candle light vigils post 26/11, ...