Legends I : Steffi Graf

I have lost interest in women's tennis. I, who at one point of time, used to be glued to the television for all women’s tennis matches. That was when I was in school and Steffi Graf was the reigning women’s tennis champion.

Oh, I used to idolize Steffi Graf. And like any other pre-teen who wants to emulate his/her idol, I too wanted to become like her.

She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male AND female players only to Margaret Court who won 24. She is, to date, the only player to achieve the "Golden Slam" by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same year (1988). She was also ranked World No. 1 for a record 377 total weeks - the longest any player has held that position.

Steffi Graf’s biggest strength was her versatility across all surfaces, her most powerful shots being her forehand & backhand slice. Her main competitors were Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario & Gabriela Sabatini.

She got involved in two controversies in her life – one, when a mentally ill fan of hers stabbed Monica Seles in the back so Steffi Graf could regain her No.1 spot, and two, when her dad got imprisoned for tax evasion.

There hasn’t been a champion like Steffi Graf yet in women's tennis, nor will there be for a long long time. The reason I’ve lost interest in women’s tennis is due to the lack of a champion. Every Grand Slam is won by a different player and the World No.1 tag is being passed on from one player to another faster than a baton during a relay race!

There were people, such as Martina Hingis & Maria Sharapova, who showed glimpses of their potential to become successors to Steffi Graf but they fizzled away without even matching up to one-fourth of what she was. I'm hoping her (and Andre Agassi's) kids grow up to be great tennis players as their iconic parents...true to this ad.

Sorry Roger but That One Belonged to Andy

I love Roger Federer but I think Andy Roddick was more deserving of this year’s Wimbledon trophy. He held Federer off like only Nadal can do. His serve was so powerful that Roger had a hard time reaching it on numerous occasions. Roddick played bravely, he played big shots and he played with determination. He was motivated to win.

I wanted A-Rod to win last night. He’s always been the guy who made it to the semis or the finals but could never break that wall except at the 2003 US Open. He is a very talented player but he had a tough time with his game, leading him to almost give up on his career. He has come back from the brink and the way he played yesterday, he really showed the world what he is capable of. I’m really sad he didn’t win but he has a new fan in me!

So, congrats Roger but that one did belong to A-Rod.

PS: Funnily, Roddick is known for his outbursts against umpires (and I don’t blame him for it). One of his most notorious quotes was to umpire Emmanuel Joseph in an Australian Open 2008 match: "You're an idiot! Stay in school kids, or you'll end up being an umpire."

Death of a Star

Another example of the spectacular downfall of a star. Sad it had to happen this way. He was an achiever, a phenomenon & he's left behind an indelible mark on pop music, for he alone was called the 'King of Pop'.

Finger Lickin' Good

Conversation with ‘The Boy’ (A) yesterday:

Me : What are you doing after work?

Boy: Going swimming.

Me: Why’re you going swimming? Let’s do something.

Boy (1 second pause): We will. I’ll go swimming, you’re going to gym!

Me: I am?

Boy: Yes.

10 minutess later, I receive this text:

“I’ll come over after swimming. Will get KFC for dinner.”

Now we were talking! I have KFC cravings just like I have pizza, Chinese food & Italian food cravings. The post-consumption guilt associated with KFC is lesser if you feel you’ve earned it, so I dragged myself to gym.

I finished gym & called him:

Me: I’m done gymming. When are you getting KFC?

Boy: You just gymmed, no?

Me (Alarm bells going off inside my head like atoms spinning in a nuclear reactor): Yes, so?

Boy: So no KFC for you. I’m getting Subway.

Me: No fucking way!

Boy: But you love Subway.

Me: I do. But you can’t promise me KFC & give me Subway! I went to gym so I could eat KFC!

Boy: How shameless you are!

Me: I don’t care. Come fast & you better have a bag of KFC on you.

And that’s how I got my KFC :)

For the Love of Mangoes

Yup! I luuuuuuuuurrrrrrve mangoes. Sinful as they are, is there any other fruit that lends itself to milkshakes as beautifully as mangoes? Except maybe bananas….and strawberries….and custard apples....

Wait, that’s quite a few fruits! But you get my point, right?

I’ve been having mangoes everyday for the past month. Not a mango a day but many mangoes a day! I’ve been having mango shake everyday for breakfast, made with two mangoes and with chunks of the fruit floating in it. Yummmmeeee!! And I have a mango again for dinner. That’s 3 mangoes a day, whereas mangoes are FORBIDDEN in my diet chart!

But what the heck? Dieticians are one of the most out-of-touch-with-reality people in the world. I’ve already written about how they prescribe diets that are unrealistic, troublesome & difficult to abide by. And then they go ahead and ban delicious fruits such as mangoes, bananas & grapes from your diet! Such morons! BTW…what’s the deal with ‘litchis’? Are they banned too?

Anyway, coming back to mangoes….I’ve discovered this new specie of mangoes called ‘Himsagar’. ‘Himsagar’ is a Bengal mango. It’s really sweet and heavenly. Mango experts consider it to be one of the most popular & lip-smacking varieties of mangoes. Unfortunately, unlike ‘Alphonso’, ‘Himsagar’ has not made it to foreign shelves yet as the quality checks required for exporting mangoes do not exist in West Bengal.

Speaking of ‘Alphonso’, I think they are way over-hyped. Like Deepika Padukone! There are other varieties of mangoes that are much sweeter and much more delicious than ‘Alphonsos’. Like ‘Zardalu’, ‘Dasheri’, ‘Langra’, ‘Maldah’ etc.

Did you know that India alone grows more than 40 varieties of mangoes? So how can those stupid dieticians expect Indians not to binge on them??!!

Fruits are supposed to be good for us, and last I checked mango was a fruit :D

The Four Hardest Tasks

To return love for hate
To include the excluded
To fogive without an apology
And to be able to say 'I was wrong'

Bing is Back!

Brett Lee is fit to play & will be playing today! He's such a pleasure to watch! Not only b/c of his pace but also b/c of his attitude, sportsmanship & ofcourse, his cute smile. Cutie he is!

Now that he's back, hope Sreesanth is out of the playing 11. I hate Sreesanth. The way he behaves on field, no wonder he's earned nicknames such as 'Appam C*****a'! No other word could describe him better than the 'C' word.

I mean, the guy gets slapped around for sixes & fours by Hayden throughout the over, and has the audacity to sledge him after ousting him!!

Actually, he's quite disgusting. Such an over-rated bowler and has an attitude from hell. The slap he got from Harbhajan Singh was so well deserved, I feel.

On the other hand, we have bowlers such as Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath & Anil Kumble. They're such better bowlers as compared to Sreesanth, so much more accomplished...yet there isn't an ounce of cockiness in them. You will never find them sledging batsmen. They celebrate wickets with their teammates, not by yelling at the ousted batsmen or making disgusting faces at them.

I think one of these big burly Australian cricketers, like Hayden or Symonds, who are twice Sreesanth's size should just beat him to pulp one of these days.