Musings From New York

ITALY WIN! ITALY WIN!

So OK, it was a really quiet game after the 19th minute, but what's with that headbutt?!

Note to self: Is it grammatically correct to say "Italy win!", or should it be "Italy wins!"

Musings From Scranton

So Alex & I drove down Monday afternoon to Scranton, PA. It's the setting for NBC's "The Office" ... and to be frank, I didn't know what to expect of the town. I believe it used to be a big mining town ... but then the coal mines dried up years ago. Hence, it's this slightly downbeat town. We went to a mall on Monday night, and it was *dead*!

And one thing that struck me entering the city - what's with all the massage parlors? Someone told me that Scranton's a truckers stop ... but I kid you not - I counted 3 billboards hocking massage parlors on the way in. You don't see that in "The Office"!

I also saw my first baseball game on Tuesday night. We'd driven up to Montague and visited the local stadium in the hope of seeing some sports. We were in luck - there was a school (is that the same as Little League?) game. Chris walked me through some of the rules & nuances of the game. I will admit, it's pretty boring to watch baseball on TV ... but I imagine the crowd and atmosphere at the stadium is pretty electric!

Go Patriots!!

Man, there were times I thought Divya was going to give me a right thump round the ear ... initially for my decision to support the Patriots ... and later for gloating over the win :-)

It was close at times, wot??

Flushing With Excitement

So unfortunately, Ramji couldn't make it out of Florida ... what with the hurrciane and all (is it just me, or does it seem like a hurricane hits Florida everytime there's a major sporting event ... or is it actually the other way around?!) ... and so Metal & I got his tickets ... and only I landed up yesterday to watch a couple of matches (Davenport bt. Bovina 7-6(7) 6-2 and V. Williams bt. Rubin 7-6(4) 6-3).

Amazing atmosphere, but I wonder how much of that was Heinikin induced. I mean, I've seen crowds on TV at other Grand Slams, and they certainly seemed more restrained. It wasn't an Indian cricket match by a long shot, but it wasn't one of those Polite-Claps-After-Each-Point either!

The 1904 Olympics

There's quite a funny article in today's WSJ about the 1904 Olympics (the "Deja Vu" column). It describes the farce that was the 1904 Olympics, at St. Louis. Highlights include:

- 12 countries participated (sea travel was long, and expensive)
- A marthon runner was chased off the track by two large dogs. Another marathon runner picked up a couple of apples off the orchard and was then held up by cramps! He eventually finished 4th, which goes to show you can't hold a good man (or his stomach contents) down.
- The 400m track had no lanes marked
- The Olympics also featured events for "uncivilized tribes" - pygmies, and the like. It was the one and only time such an even took place.

Aah yes, that's the America we've come to know and love. Back then they didn't need the Simpsons as a mirror to their idiocies.

Humble Pie

On 2nd June, I wrote

So ... Lakers/Pistons. I suppose we might as well have them on TV - I'm sure advertisers and networks have poured several millions into booking airtime. I say we need not bother - show us some replays instead. Or hold another All Stars tournament. Anything but the all-to-predictable Lakers wins.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Go Pistons! Anything to see uber-egos shattered! I think it was the clash of high-profile players in the starting line-up that led to the demise of the Lakers. I wonder if Phil Jackson will be given the sack.

The Soccer World Cup

Folks like Vodka - and I suspect, a few other US-bashers - hate to hear me say "soccer". "It's football!" they scream, adding "Learn the !@#$ing language". Well I googled around for a bit, and came up with an explanation for the word's origin.

From the website wordorigins.org:

Soccer

Soccer is an abbreviation for Association Football. The Football Association was formed in London in October 1863 when representatives of eleven clubs and schools met in an attempt to standardize the rules of the game. One of the rules prohibited the carrying of the ball, a rule that would lead to the Rugby-oriented clubs leaving the Association several months later. The name Association Football was coined to distinguish it from Rugby.

By 1889, the abbreviation socca' was in use, and the spelling soccer had made its appearance by 1895.

So, Vodka, I can quite honestly say to you, "I do know the language, you Higgins-wannabe!"

In Sports Today ...

Sigh. I remember when I used to watch NBA games. Good times, they was. I was ... er, am, a Kings fan. But it seems to me that the Kings are to the Lakers as South Africa are to Australia in cricket. Kings/SA teams will win all league matches and then choke in playoffs. While the Lakers/Aussies have variable successes in the league matches and then trounce everyone on the way to winning the tournament.

So ... Lakers/Pistons. I suppose we might as well have them on TV - I'm sure advertisers and networks have poured several millions into booking airtime. I say we need not bother - show us some replays instead. Or hold another All Stars tournament. Anything but the all-to-predictable Lakers wins.

In other news ... looks like we'll get to see local cricket on US television. Who knows, if we get exhibition matches from the country teams we might get to see world-class cricket without shelling out $150 for webcasts and without staying up to watch games that start at 1am.