Musings about sports in general, & Cricket in particular. With baseball season coming up, will look into that, too. And lots of good cricket in 2007, including the World Cup.
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This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.
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20060610
This is quite the busy Sporting season: the England cricket team just finished up a Test series with the Lankans & are preparing for ODIs, the mlb season is underway with another thrilling pennant race in store (looks like) in the American League East, the Stanley Cup has produced another unlikely pairing in a team that hasn't won anything since Gretsky left & another team that plays in the heart of NASCAR & college basketball country, an NBA Championship between 2 teams that have never been there before, &, finally, the arrival of the quadriennial World Cup. I have been following all, catching games & matches here & there. Today though, is about the Cup.
It doesn't seem quite like 4 years since the Brazileans--the Overlords of Football--hoisted that strange looking trophy above their yellow & green heads (okay, so that's their kits). This year's cup began yesterday &, it being a Friday, I was unable to view either of the matches. Today though, I deliberately set aside time for the Cup, watching a very nervy sort of game for the English against Paraguay (they won, 1-0), & then a simply marvelous game as Trinidad & Togego (one nation) took on the favored Swedish side. Trinadad & Tobego--more famous for producing Brian Lara than any footballers--is the smallest country ever to qualify for the Cup (hopefully, the Vatican team can get it together & make it in 2010). Their star player received a red card in the 1st half. They lost their starting 'keeper in warmups, & had to start a 37-year old who didn't have much time to warm up at all. His name was Shaka Hislop, a former goalie at Howard U. in old DC, & he wound up being Man of the Match. Despite all this, or maybe because of it in a crazy, quirky sort of way, T&T prevailed. Now, they didn't win (keep your heads, now!). But they did draw, 0-0, & that broken-down 'keeper, the afterthought, kept out everything that came his way all afternoon. So, they still have an outside shot to make it into the next round, although they play England next. But what the hell--today's their day.
This may be one reason for the popularity of the Cup--like the Olympics, it's not around all the time, & it provides the opportunity for heroics like this that might now otherwise be seen.
7:01 PM
20060607
In the matter of England v. Sri Lanka, I know that most pundits are complaining that England didn't give the tourists a good thrashing, but then they didn't lose, either. Guess those same pundits forgot that just less than 10 years ago, England were hardly beating anyone. A draw on one's home turf may not be totally desirable, but it's no great shame either--especially the way England's been hit with injuries this Spring. Pakistan--no doubt--will be a tougher test, but by then some fitness concerns should be alleviated.
9:55 AM
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