It’s that time of year again folks: the long, dreary grandslam event filled with Spaniards sliding around the red clay, chasing down every ball like their life depends on it and occasionally displaying some dazzling tennis.

The men’s draw:  Rafa’s victory inevitable

And this year, we are probably going to see an exciting men’s draw. After all somebody needs to lose to Nadal in the final. Unlike the last two years, Federer has had a very poor start to his season and seems in rather human form. This kind of slump will take some recovering from given that he has not experience such sustained failure over the last few years. Nadal is entering the tournament playing as well as he has ever on clay. It would be a foolish man who would bet against him even given a tricky match against Nalbandian and a potential semi-final against Djokovic.

But what will be interesting to see is who will be across the net from him during the finale. At this point, while I don’t rule Federer out, his draw isn’t improving the odds. He could potentially face Wawrinka or Gasquet in the quarters and Ferrer or Robredo in the semi-finals. These are tough clay court matches and given current form, I wouldn’t be surprised if Federer lost in the semis to say, Ferrer. As for Djokovic, he is playing well and should make it to the semis. I don’t think he has developed the clay court game to beat Nadal yet. Even given the form he is in, I expect on Nadal to beat him in four sets at the most.

The women’s draw will definitely be more interesting. Henin has absolutely dominated this tournament over the past few years and her absence opens up the tournament. Personally, I would love to see Sharapova win. But she doesn’t seem patient enough to play out the long rallies and she also doesn’t slide around as well on clay. Ivanovic is playing well and the nervousness of being on the big stage would’ve reduced by the time she reaches the clay courts of Paris. I would pick her to be a finalist. And I pick Kuznetzova to be her opponent. Sharapova v Kuznetzova will be an interesting semi-final. Both of them prefer the hard courts to clay but I think on a good day, Kuznetzova’s power will see her past Sharapova on clay. Final pick, Ana Ivanovic. A final word: the Williams sisters have shown time and again that they will pull surprises out of the bag and you discount them at your own peril.

Do you agree with our picks? Who do you think is going to reign on clay this season? Let us know.

Manchester United

After an incredible season in which Manchester Unitedd completed the double of Premier League and Champions League, one wonders whether there is a need to strengthen the squad. But, there is.

Right Back

United need a right back in the mold of left back Patrice Evra - capable going forward and supplying the crosses. They were chasing Jose Bosingwa of Porto but Chelsea beat them to his signature.

Striker:

A striker is also a top priority since Saha will be sold to the highest bidder. Wanted - a tall striker with a good physical presence and excellent finishing capabilities!

Meanwhile, there is daily speculation about Ronaldo leaving and the latest rumor is that a bid for 64 million pounds along with Robinho would make Man Utd sell their most valuable asset and the likely European and World Player of the Year.

Possible Ins

In: Dani Alves (Sevilla), Micah Richards (Man City), Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Miguel (Valencia), Huntelaar (Ajax), Benzema (Lyon), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Ashton (West Ham), Berbatov (Tottenham), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff), Valencia and Palacios (Wigan)

Possible Outs: Pique (to Barca), Silvestre (to Bordeaux), Ronaldo (to Real), Fletcher, Kuszack, and Saha

Manchester United Utd have reportedly made bids for French teen sensations Jeremy Helan and Darnel Situ. It would be great to get Richards and Benzema, but the possiblity of getting Richards is extremely remote. Aaron Ramsey looks promising and could be one for the future. Ferguson must be looking at offloading two of Fletcher, Saha, and Silvestre. If Ronaldo were to leave, I would splash the cash and buy Ribery from Bayern.

Chelsea

For Chelsea, the season began and ended in disappointment. One expects Roman Abramovich to splash the cash and get some of the best but 500 million pounds in investment, it remains to be seen how much further he wants to go.

The manager:

Avram Grant is likely to be sacked and replaced by either ex-Barca manager Frank Rijkaard, Roberto Mancini (Inter Milan), or Guus Hiddink (Russia). I expect wholesale changes to the squad that failed to win a trophy this season, after losing out to Manchester United in the Premiership and the Champions League and to Tottenham in the Carling Cup.

Frank Lampard is being linked with Inter Milan but I am sure Lamps is just holding out for a huge bumper deal. Chelsea will give him that deal as it plans to build a team around Terry and Lampard.

Didier Drogba looks certain to leave after whining through the season about how much he misses Jose Mourinho. Milan should be his likely decision but whether its Inter or AC remains to be seen. Whats going to be the fate of Andrei Shevchenko? Will Shaun Wright Phillips finally leave? Its going to be an interesting summer at Stamford Bridge.

Possibe Ins

Ribery (Bayern), Ramos (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Barca), Van der Vaart (Hamburg), Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Dos Santos (Barca), Huntelaar (Ajax), Richards (Man City)

Possibe Outs

Drogba, Malouda, Bridge, SWPhillips, Belletti, Shevchenko, Kalou, Sidwell, Pizzaro, Ben Haim, Cudicini

In a tense but pulsating final in Moscow, Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties. The match had ended 1-1 after 120 minutes with Frank Lampard’s goal on the stroke of half time canceling Ronaldo’s headed goal earlier in the first half. After United dominated the first half only to be played off the park by Chelsea in the second, the match went to extra time. And after an incredible clearance by John Terry to deny Ryan Giggs and an moment of sheer lunacy on the part of Drogba which resulted in him getting sent off, the match went to penalties.

After Ronaldo’s miss and 8 successful spot kicks, it all came down to “Mr. Chelsea” himself- John Terry stepped up to take the final penalty knowing that Chelsea would win if he scored. What happened next would remain etched in the minds of fans everywhere, Terry lost his footing and ended up missing the penalty despite sending Van Der Saar the wrong way. Unbelievable stuff. And in sudden death, it was Nicolas Anelka who saw his spot kick saved by Van Der Saar to give the title to Manchester United. Their third European title overall and their first since 1999. A particularly memorable achievement considering this came on the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash.

Full credit to Chelsea:

Chelsea’s season could have been so much more different today morning if either Drogba or Lampard had managed to score instead of hitting the woodwork. It probably would have been different if Drogba had not got sent off (a la Zidane in the 2006 final) but credit where its due, Chelsea had resurrected their season brilliantly. Avram Grant looks as clueless as ever on the pitch but his half time talk did have a positive effect. The team will see a lot of changes in the off season with players such as Drogba, Lampard, Carvalho all expected to leave. Whether Roman Abrahamovich will continue to spend money to get new players remains to be seen.

Best team in Europe

Much like Barcelona in 2006, this season has seen Manchester United dominate both domestically and in Europe. The team has played some attacking football with Ferguson using the 4-3-3 formation to great effect. Obviously, all the credit will go to Ronaldo, who with Tevez and Rooney contributed most of United’s goals. However, the success of the squad also has a lot to do with the incredible back four. The duo of Ferdinand and Vidic in the centre, the much improved Wes Brown on the right and the brilliant Patrice Evra at left back. Ferguson has added another trophy to the 31 accumulated in his career and watching him jump about in the rain, it was obvious that he will be in charge at Old Trafford for some time to come.

It was perhaps fitting that Ryan Giggs scored the goal that ensured the Premiership title would be staying at Old Trafford. Whether this is his last season or not remains to be seen, but the goal would cap a magnificent career that has seen him win, among other things, an incredible TEN league championships with Manchester United. The Welsh wing wizard might not have had the best of seasons, but along with Paul Scholes, has contributed significantly to the Red Devils’ incredible season.

Although their campaign got off to a relatively rocky start, United quickly established their place in the top two, along with the early pace-setters, Arsenal. They led the table on no less than 7 occasions during the season, overtaking Arsenal and holding off the threat of Chelsea – though it was a close run thing. Chelsea kept up with the points tally right until the very last game of the season – they drew, United won. In the words of Andy “I state the obvious and nothing more” Gray - “Game over, I guess”.

Ronaldo the diference:

Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed the sort of season most people could only dream of – 31 league goals. And what goals they were – long shots, tap-ins, beguiling back-heels, thunderous free kicks, and headers which center backs would dream of scoring. The success of this side has relied more than anything else on the efforts of one of the most phenomenal players on the planet. Goals against Arsenal and Liverpool should put to rest the ‘big game bottler’ tag he seems to have acquired, at least in the league, and the scary thing is that he is likely to get better. The mind boggles. In terms of influence on results, Rio Ferdinand’s superb marshalling of his defence came in a close second – 22 goals conceded in 38 games tells its own story.

Credit to Sir Alex and Carlos

Finally, credit must go to Alex Ferguson – aided by Carlos Queiroz, his tactical skills came to the fore. Solid in defence, sometimes playing with 2 holding midfielders, the team was set up to counter attack at lightning speed, leaving most defenses wondering what had hit them. Sir Alex has now won 10 (!) first division championships, taking United’s total up to 17, one behind Liverpool. Talk of retirement is misleading and, more than anything else, inaccurate – as long as blood flows through his veins, he’ll be taking his seat in the dug out at Old Trafford, waiting to unleash his “emerging” squad (or so he says) on their next victim.

The clear out has started at the Camp Nou and as expected it has started right at the top. After five years in charge of Barcelona, Frank Rijkaard has paid the price for not trophies for two consecutive years. Rijkaard will leave the club at the end of the season and will be replaced (for now) by club legend Pep Guardiola. Rijkaard had led Barcelona to back to back league triumphs in 2004 and 2005, the second league title capped by a famous triumph in Paris as the Catalans defeated Arsenal in the final of the Champions League.

It almost seems inevitable that the departure of Rijkaard will be the first step in a mass exodus at the club. Ronaldinho seems set to join AC Milan, Deco seems to have lost favour with the club. Henry seems listless and is looking for ways to get back to his daughter in England. There are rumours that Etoo is leaving too. The back four desperately needs a new spine and again there are rumours that Zambrotta and Marquez will be off soon.

What could have been:

Two years back it would have been hard to imagine the squad completely disintegrate like this. In May 2006, it seemed that the club truly ruled the world with the likes of Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Deco and Etoo leading the side to European glory. Further, with the likes of Messi, Bojan and Dos Santos waiting in the wings, it seemed to many that this would truly be Rijkaard and the Catalan’s decade- another Cryuff’s dream team in the making. Now, of the lot on Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Bojan seem to have the drive to even turn up for some of the games.

An attacking legacy:

A return of 2 league titles and 1 European trophy is just an icing on the impressive attacking legacy that Rijkaard leaves behind in Barcelona. Yes, the squad was blessed with abundant talent but Rijkaard did put them together and encouraged them to attack. But the joy was short lived,over the past two seasons, clubs across Spain and Europe haven’t been as intimated by the superstars as they were before. Other factors also contributed to the decline- most notably Ronaldinho’s complete transformation from MVP to a prima donna. There were too many stories about backroom and training ground fights, of little cliques being formed and of players losing the drive to win. The biggest reason for Rijkaard’s failure could well be his inability to keep the team motivated after their 2005-2006 double.

Its going to be very interesting to see where Rijkaard ends up next. A good option seems to be Chelsea; Roman Abrahamovich seems to crave attacking football and Rijkaard could just be the man who can deliver it to him. Plus, the money or getting the right players is not going to be an issue. AC Milan could well be another option but it remains to be seen if he would like to reunite with Ronaldinho at the San Siro.

“Sport is sometimes hard but honest and only the best 12 teams in the world will participate at the Olympic Games.”

The words of the International Hockey Federation (HIF) President Els van Breda Vriesman added further sting to the Indian hockey team that had lost to Great Britain in the sudden-death qualifying match, and with the loss, the team failed to make it to the Olympics for the first time in 80 years. For a nation that has won the Olympic gold a record 8 times, Indian hockey’s decline was complete after years of staggering on with little direction.

It was an inevitable disaster waiting to happen considering the way hockey was being run by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). When the experienced Ric Charlesworth was appointed as technical director of Indian hockey, it was expected that he would turn out to be the catalyst for change. He is just into his fifth month of his tenure, but he has already been sidelined by IHF President K.P.S. Gill to the extent that the revered Aussie has not been paid a salary or reimbursed expenses of nearly $20,000.

The warning signs were all there. In 2005, The FIH termed IHF as the worst run hockey association in the world, and in 2006, India failed to make it to the semi-finals of the Asian Games.  It is even more suprising that in 2001, a talented group players that had actually gone on to win the junior World Cup has been completely wasted and left to rot.

The problems that plague the state of the sport in India include the decline in the talent pool throughout the country, lack of proper management of resources, and autocratic rule by Gill, who continues to head the IHF despite overseeing the worst years of Indian Hockey, ever since he became IHF President in 1994.

While the Indian government remains a mute spectator because it cannot dismiss the IHF on the grounds of autonomy (damn the Olympic charter!), Indian hockey gets further caught up in the quagmire of bureaucratic red tape. That lesser hockeying nations such as China and Great Britain have overtaken us is a damning indictment on the pathetic state of our national sport.

Indian Hockey in Numbers

0 - the number of Olympic medals India has won since winning the Gold in 1980 at Moscow.

3 - the number of years since the last IHF general body meeting was held after vice-President Narendra Batra filed a writ against Gill in 2005 with regard to length of tenure and financial irregularities.

5 - the number of national hockey championships during Gill’s tenure.

6 - the number of the senior-most players sacked, along with the coach after India won its first Asian Games gold medal after 32 years in 1998 in Bangkok.

18 - the number of coaches changed since 1994.

40 - the number of astro turfs in India compared to 5 in South Korea and 3 in China, countries that will be playing in the Beijing Olympics.

2

Runs made by Adam Gilchrist in his final innings before he edged Praveen Kumar and decided to walk. It brought to an end one of the most successful careers over the past decade, which has included three world cups, over 70 test victories and a world record for test dismissals for wicket keepers. But sometimes stats do not tell the entire story, because Adam Gilchrist has been one of the best entertainers the game has ever seen, and also as one of the best all rounders of all time. One can safely say that he will be the third name put down in an all time test XI (after the Don and Sobers). Gilchrist was also a fantastic ambassador for Australia and needless to say, international cricket will miss him.

5

Number of matches won by India on the tour out of a possible 8 (two were washed out). 2 against the Lankans and 3 against the Aussies.

8

The number of batsmen who finished with an average of more than 35 and yet it was one of the most fun tournaments in living memory! Who said we need flat decks and 300 runs every 50 to have exciting one-day internationals?

10

Number of wickets taken by Praveen Kumar in three matches, including 4 in the second final at the Gabba. Watching Praveen Kumar bamboozle the Australian top order with his prodigious swing, it was hard to imagine that the guy is just 21 and would have almost thrown away his international career by joining the ICL. His performances again proved what a shrewd cricketing brain Dhoni has. Few captains would have backed Praveen Kumar because of his obvious lack of pace, but Dhoni rightly spotted that he would cause problems with his swing. Another one for the future.

14

Number of wickets taken by Ishant Sharma. No doubt the find of the tour and one to watch out for. Hopefully, the selectors and the team management will groom him and not let him go the way of countless other promising youngsters before him.

24

Average age of the Indian team. Who said you don’t win anything with kids? The average of the Australian team? 33. India had one player above the age of 30 (Tendulkar) whereas the Australians had just three players under 30. As I pointed out before, this was a shot in the arm for not just the selection committee but also for Dhoni’s captaincy. Moving forward, the introduction of youth at the expense of the experienced warhorses will probably take place with less drama.

67

Runs made by Ricky Ponting in 9 innings if one removes the 124 he made against India. Thats an average of 7 runs per innings.

208

Runs made by Sachin Tendulkar in the two finals of the tournament. He had had a largely forgettable tournament till that point with just 191 runs from 8 innings leading fans and former players to wonder whether the time had come for Tendulkar to go the way of both Dravid and Ganguly. But in two fantastic innings, Tendulkar turned it all around taking India to victory. It wasn’t as glamorous as the two knocks in Sharjah over a decade back but it was memorable to watch the way Sachin use his strengths to the maximum and guide youngsters such as Uthappa and Rohit Sharma. Needless to say, I fully expect the little master to carry on till 2011.

440

Total runs scored by Gautam Gambhir in the tournament. To be very honest, I have never been a big fan of the Delhi youngster, always had the feeling that he would struggle against the top teams in tough conditions but did he prove me wrong! Gambhir had a fantastic series and topped the runs charts scoring two centuries in the process. His 113 against Australia was a innings of the highest quality and proved that he has the maturity to play at the top level. Pity that he didn’t do well in the final, but then its a good thing that a certain Mr. Tendulkar stepped up.

100000000

Amount in Rupees that the BCCI has decided is a suitable award for the Indian team for winning the tournament. If you think 10 crores is a big amount, consider this- MS Dhoni will get Rs 6 crores for turning out for Chennai Kings for the IPL.

In a brilliant display of teamwork, commitment, and maturity, the Indian cricket team beat Australia 2-0 in the best of three finals to lift the Commonwealth Bank triseries in Australia. The second final in particular was an absolute humdinger and the manner in which youngsters responded in the pressure cooker situation was nothing short of remarkable. This is definitely the Indian team’s most notable achievement in the 50 over format in years and should prove to be a fantastic springboard for more success over the next couple of years.

All round performance gives India vital victory:

It is true that the Indian victory at the SCG and at the Gabba was set up by the little champion Sachin Tendulkar, but it is heartening to see that several individuals contributed over the two matches. From Rohit Sharma’s patient 50 that helped India chase down 240 in the final to Harbhajan’s crucial blows in the middle overs to Praveen Kumar’s spectacular 4 for 46 in the second final, both the finals had enough instances of Indian players stepping up during crucial moments. What was so remarkable about the matches is the fact that not one Australian player barring James Hopes was able to lift their game in either of the games.

Vindication of selection policy:

India’s success in the triseries is not just a vindication of MS Dhoni’s captaincy skills but is also a shot in the arm for the selection committee that has been trumpeting the need to promote rookies at the expense of experienced warhorses. There has been a lot of criticism of the policy that has led to the introduction of several youngsters at one time rather than in phases. But, to the credit of the selection committee it has to be said that they gave the captain the team he wanted.

Fantastic climax to a long tour:

With this victory, an eventful Australian tour that will go down in history not for the runs scored but for the insults traded finally come to an end in a moment of triumph for Indian cricket. This victory will also hopefully give the Indian and Australian medias enough things to write about without having to resort to articles about the childish behaviour of the two sides. But mostly, I am hoping that this is not another false dawn for Indian cricket, and that this team can start putting together good performances consistently and is more than just a mere collection of several stars as has been the case for many years.

This weekend promises to be extremely interesting for Indian sport (well, cricket) . The first final of the trination series down under is played on Sunday and on the same day in Kuala Lumpur , the under 19 side will look to make history when they take on the winners of the semifinal between Pakistan and South Africa in the under 19 world cup final. Obviously, the entire nation is going to be focused on the Sydney Cricket Ground as the Indian team tries to go one up in the best of three final.

But, tomorrow another series is going to commence, an event that should be of equal importance to the sports fraternity in the country. However, unlike the event on the other side of the planet, this is going to get very little coverage unless the team in question fails in its quest. For tomorrow, the Indian men’s hockey team is going to embark on a one week battle to ensure it qualifies for the Beijing Olympics. And if it doesn’t, the complete fall from the top of the hockey world in 1975 to the third tier of international hockey will be complete.

The teams:

Austria, Chile, Great Britain, Mexico and Russia are the teams which will be looking to get that last qualification spot for the Hockey event in Beijing. The fact is that barring Great Britain the other teams are all expected to be easy pickings for the Indian team. But, the big problem is that the final spot is going to be decided by a grand final next Sunday. And Great Britain has been doing extremely well of late, it could just happen that India has a great tournament but is knocked out of the Olympics because of a disastrous seventy minutes in the final. ( India’s draw with Poland in the Sydney 2000 Olympics effectively ruled them out of the semifinals and Poland were a team we were expected to beat).

The positive signs:

One of the most positive aspects has to be how young this team is, which means few of them have known failure on the international stage. Obviously the fantastic Asian Cup victory in Chennai in 2007 has helped boost the confidence of the team (pity the event was completely overshadowed by the 20-20 victory). Players such as Diwakar Ram (India’s great drag flicker hope) and Prabjhot Singh have made rapid strides over the past year. Plus, experienced players like Dilip Tirkey, Bimal Lakra and Ignace Tirkey will add steel to the side. The team has a good coach in Joaquim Carvalho who is committed to playing fast and attacking hockey. Further, having a man such as Ric Charlesworth providing his inputs should help.

The negatives:

None of the other teams in the event has the pedigree or the history of the Indian team and this intensifies the pressure on the Indian team. If they fail, references to the glorious run between 1928 and 1960 when we won the gold medal at every Olympic games will come thick and fast. Difficulties in qualifying for the Olympics is not new for the Indian team but never has it come down to making one final spot. Further, there has already been an instance of not everything in the preparation going the right way- as premier striker Rajpal Singh withdrew from the team claiming poor treatment only to retract the statement 24 hours later.

The next one week will officially kickstart India’s interest in the 2008 Olympics. One just hopes the Indian Hockey team is at the opening ceremony on the 8th of July 2008 in Beijing.

India’s fixtures:

March 1: vs Russia

March 2: vs Austria

March 4: vs Mexico

March 6: vs Britain

March 8: vs Chile.

The interest in the lives of the Bachchan family, India’s continued love affair with King Shahrukh Khan,the effigy burning in Kolkotta every time time Saurav Ganguly is dropped and Bangalore’s continued infrastructure problems. There are some things that never stop and now one can safely add one more to that list- the juvenile almost moronic tussle between the Indian and Australian teams.

In the latest episode, Australian opener Matthew Hayden referred to Indian spinner as an obnoxious weed further adding fuel to the fire that has raged through the summer. To be fair to Hayden, it is easy to understand where all the frustration was coming from- the fact that Andrew Symonds and him are state mates and best friends. But for a man who is 37 (thats right 37!) and who is not exactly known for good on-field behaviour to make such a remark is simply astounding. And why was it necessary to make this comment in such a turbulent time just speaks volumes of Hayden’s maturity. He would do well to learn from his opening partner- Adam Gilchrist.

Further, in the same radio interview, Matthew Hayden went on to wind up Ishant Sharma (a 19 year old to put things in context) by challenging him to a boxing match. Pure mental disintegration if you ask me and I am just hoping that Ishant doesn’t catch the bait and turn up in the one-day finals, emotionally wound up. And you can be certain that if either Harbhajan or Ishant react to this on the field, Hayden and Ponting will run up to the umpires and complain.

Petty behavior showing both teams in poor light:

There is not much that can be done about the influence of BCCI on world cricket, but both teams can behave better. Over the past decade, the Australian team’s performances on the field have probably made it the best in the history of the game but in their behaviour, they have more resembled the classroom bully (and I am not exaggerating here) than world champions. Their behavior is purely shaped to provoke the opposition (and Hayden’s remark has taken it off the field as well) but their response to criticism is standard- “we play the game hard but play it fair”.

India’s bunch of tyros (Sreesanth, Harbhajan and the likes) needlessly get into verbal spars with the Australian team and continuously go to the media making needless remarks. They would do well to learn from men like Dhoni and Kumble who continue to perform without mouthing off at every given opportunity. Again, I am all for aggressive cricketers who wear their hearts on their sleeve but again their behaviour has frankly been over the top.

Not looking forward to the October tour:

In case you didn’t know, the Australian team is touring Indian this October playing four tests in all. Somehow, the events of the past three months have made me realize that I am just not looking forward to the tour. The cricket is going to be exciting but the whole tour is just going to be full of insults, accusations and counter accusations. Further, I am dead sure that the BCCI will instruct the curators to create complete spinning wickets to ensure that the Indian team wins (news flash: our best performance in Australia was on a wicket that offered swing). I am all for spin and turn but not on the first day!

A sledging ban in the offing:

There is no other sport in the world where teams from such diverse cultures play each other with so much regularity while representing their national teams (you cant say Football cause International Football takes place for about 30 days every calendar year). What continues to amaze me is that neither the Australian team or the Indian team tries and understands the way of life of the other. What is perceived as personal banter in one culture is an insult in the other. Call it mental disintegration or sledging, personal attacks should not be a part of the game- be it on or off the field and this must go. And considering the clout of the BCCI and the subcontinent teams, chances are that it will be banned sooner rather than later.

If the ICC continues to shove things under the carpet, sooner rather than later this whole thing is going to explode just like the Harbhajan controversy a month back. Till then, Cricket Australia and the BCCI will do well to instruct their players to keep their lips sealed.