When the Wembley Stadium re-opened after a four-plus year renovation worth up to 800 million pounds, soccer fans all over the world were expecting a fascinating match to christen the new stadium.
While the first match was between England and the four-time World Cup champion in Italy, it came with a catch: It was only an Under-21 friendly match, with the main aim of testing its safety facilities in order to obtain a safety certificate to host international matches in future.
But lo and behold, the match was an absolute classic, as good as anyone you have ever watched.
With the England fans cheering for their home team to score the first ever goal in the new Wembley, Italy decided to give them a surprise and an early present. Giampaolo Pazzini, a striker for Serie A side Fiorentina, gave the visitors a shock lead after just 29 seconds when his speculative long-range effort went in off West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand. It was the quickest ever goal at Wembley before and after renovation.
England, with the bruising Leroy Lita of Reading leading the attack, soon regained control with timely and strong tackling in the midfield, and superior ball-controlling skills. It was no surprise when number seven David Bentley, who has the same initials and jersey number as David Beckham (DB7), curled in a spectacular free-kick after 31 minutes, a la Beckham.
In the second-half, both sides made wholesale changes which injected extra energy into the match. Second-half substitute Matt Derbyshire, a teammate of Bentley at Blackburn Rovers, found Wayne Routledge with a deadly diagonal pass which made it 2-1 for the home side just after half-time. But England's advantage was soon gone when Pazzini netted his second of the match in a goal mouth scramble just minutes later.
By then Italy had regained the upper hand in midfield with the home side tiring. But in a wonderfully open match, it was Derbyshire who deflected the ball home from close range to make it 3-2.
But Pazzini had the last laugh. In a textbook counter-attack keyed by the perfect one-touch pass from Alessandro Rosina, it looked as though Pazzini had taken the ball too wide, but his angled shot somehow found its way under the outstretched hand of England keeper Lee Camp to make it 3-3. Pazzini is the first player to score a hat-trick at Wembley since Paul Scholes did it in a 3-1 victory over Poland in 1999.
Pazzini could have added a fourth, but Camp's fumble was just beyond the reach of Pazzini's legs and he could only put the ball tantalizingly wide of the gaping goal.
If they use that match to see if the new Wembley is capable of hosting international matches in future, then they should also use it to see if the Under-21 team is capable of passing off as the senior team. And with the players showing so much flair and energy, they could have beaten Israel convincingly in Tel Aviv, something the senior team failed to do over the weekend.
So I would like to see a match between the junior and senior sides, and I won't be surprised to see the young boys emerge as the victors.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Rumbling (and Ever Mumbling) Raikkonen
A couple of predictions for the new Formula One season:
1. Kimi Raikkonen will be this year's World Champion; and
2. Lewis Hamilton will win (at least) a race this season.
These come after the first round of the new season, at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia.
Ferrari is definitely the smoothest, if not the quickest car in the entire field. They have done an excellent job in setting up the car, and Kimi was doing a fantastic job driving it. If you have watched Kimi's driving from his on-board camera, you wouldn't have noticed any understeering or oversteering at all, and Kimi negotiated every corner with consummate ease, without having to make any steering adjustment at all. The car was simply super-quick and ultra-smooth. Coupled with its brand-new all-red paint scheme, Ferrari is a marvel to watch, even for a Ferrari-hater like Yours Truly.
The only blemishes for Ferrari were Felipe Massa's gearbox trouble during the second qualifying session, which gave him a provisional 16th on the starting grid. And that became 22nd and last when the team decided to change his engine. But Massa drove brilliantly and thanks to his one-pitstop strategy, he oh so nearly overtook the once again day-dreaming Giancarlo Fisichella in a Renault for fifth.
The other blemish was Raikkonen's post-race interview, which was carried out in his trademark indecipherable and monotonous way. For Ferrari, they have certainly maintained their tradition of giving annoying interviews: From Michael Schumacher's way too politically correct stance to Kimi's talking style which, despite your very best effort, will tell you nothing as you simply cannot hear what he's talking about.
The race itself was a mere procession, but the main talking point is that the reigning World Champion, Fernando Alonso, being outpaced by his rookie teammate Hamilton.
Hamilton, the reigning GP2 Champion and the first black Formula One driver ever, became the first driver to have led his very first Grand Prix since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996, also held in Albert Park. And he wouldn't have done so had he not made such an audacious move to overtake Alonso at the first corner.
Hamilton, who started fourth in his McLaren Mercedes, was bundled up behind BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who started fifth, at the inside of the track. Meanwhile Alonso, who started second, stayed on the middle and had a chance to overtake Kimi, who was at the outside. But Kimi shut the door on everyone and went through the corner first. Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld, who was inside Alonso, went second. Seeing nowhere to go at fifth, Hamilton went around the outside of both Kubica AND Alonso and tucked nicely behind Heidfeld into third, in a spectacular move.
In qualifying, Hamilton was faster than Alonso in the first session. But when it matters the most, Alonso beat him in the final session for second place on the grid. And despite being quicker than Alonso during the early and middle portion of the race, Alonso once again was quicker when it matters the most, and managed to come out ahead of him after the second pitstop, thanks mainly to Hamilton's off-field excursions on a number of occasions.
Despite losing his hard-fought second place, Hamilton finished the race in a comfortable third place, thus becoming the 55th Formula One driver to score on his debut. It's a fantastic start to his Formula One career indeed, and a much better one than his fellow rookie, the highly-touted Finn Heikki Kovalainen of Renault, who finished out of the points in tenth place.
1. Kimi Raikkonen will be this year's World Champion; and
2. Lewis Hamilton will win (at least) a race this season.
These come after the first round of the new season, at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia.
Ferrari is definitely the smoothest, if not the quickest car in the entire field. They have done an excellent job in setting up the car, and Kimi was doing a fantastic job driving it. If you have watched Kimi's driving from his on-board camera, you wouldn't have noticed any understeering or oversteering at all, and Kimi negotiated every corner with consummate ease, without having to make any steering adjustment at all. The car was simply super-quick and ultra-smooth. Coupled with its brand-new all-red paint scheme, Ferrari is a marvel to watch, even for a Ferrari-hater like Yours Truly.
The only blemishes for Ferrari were Felipe Massa's gearbox trouble during the second qualifying session, which gave him a provisional 16th on the starting grid. And that became 22nd and last when the team decided to change his engine. But Massa drove brilliantly and thanks to his one-pitstop strategy, he oh so nearly overtook the once again day-dreaming Giancarlo Fisichella in a Renault for fifth.
The other blemish was Raikkonen's post-race interview, which was carried out in his trademark indecipherable and monotonous way. For Ferrari, they have certainly maintained their tradition of giving annoying interviews: From Michael Schumacher's way too politically correct stance to Kimi's talking style which, despite your very best effort, will tell you nothing as you simply cannot hear what he's talking about.
The race itself was a mere procession, but the main talking point is that the reigning World Champion, Fernando Alonso, being outpaced by his rookie teammate Hamilton.
Hamilton, the reigning GP2 Champion and the first black Formula One driver ever, became the first driver to have led his very first Grand Prix since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996, also held in Albert Park. And he wouldn't have done so had he not made such an audacious move to overtake Alonso at the first corner.
Hamilton, who started fourth in his McLaren Mercedes, was bundled up behind BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who started fifth, at the inside of the track. Meanwhile Alonso, who started second, stayed on the middle and had a chance to overtake Kimi, who was at the outside. But Kimi shut the door on everyone and went through the corner first. Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld, who was inside Alonso, went second. Seeing nowhere to go at fifth, Hamilton went around the outside of both Kubica AND Alonso and tucked nicely behind Heidfeld into third, in a spectacular move.
In qualifying, Hamilton was faster than Alonso in the first session. But when it matters the most, Alonso beat him in the final session for second place on the grid. And despite being quicker than Alonso during the early and middle portion of the race, Alonso once again was quicker when it matters the most, and managed to come out ahead of him after the second pitstop, thanks mainly to Hamilton's off-field excursions on a number of occasions.
Despite losing his hard-fought second place, Hamilton finished the race in a comfortable third place, thus becoming the 55th Formula One driver to score on his debut. It's a fantastic start to his Formula One career indeed, and a much better one than his fellow rookie, the highly-touted Finn Heikki Kovalainen of Renault, who finished out of the points in tenth place.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Mighty Marathon
The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has long been the one and only opportunity for Yours Truly to exercise for an extended period of time every year.
And being clumsy and chubby (and most tragically, being not much taller than Muggsy Bogues), Yours Truly dares not attempt the marathon or even the half-marathon. Yours Truly is more than happy to take part in the 10km race, which starts from Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, through the Western Harbour Tunnel and go all the way back to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
You can travel along the same route by taxi. But unfortunately you won't go very far as you'll be ticketed for making an illegal left-turn from Nathan Road onto Austin Road, the very first turn of the race.
Last Sunday's race was Yours Truly's fourth ever. Yours Truly has been running the 10km race since 2003, except 2005 when Yours Truly somehow forgot to enroll. The race always takes place in an early Sunday morning sometime after the Chinese New Year. As this is the only race in Hong Kong in which the runners will run through some of the busiest districts in Kowloon and Hong Kong (and the New Territories as well for the marathon and half-marathon runners), the popularity of the race has been increasing over the years, with a total of over 43,000 runners taking part in this year's race.
A lot of participants, like Yours Truly, are "Sunday runners" who seldom exercise and almost never go jogging. Given the high humidity during spring time in Hong Kong, many wonder if the race would pose a serious threat to the runners' well-being. And indeed after a runner had died from dehydration and exhaustion in last year's race, all the kind-hearted buddies advised Yours Truly not to push himself to the limit.
And so Yours Truly always tells himself it's merely an occasion for him to wake up early (three in the morning, a time when Yours Truly is very often still awake), breathe in the fresh air and to work out in the urban area. As expected, many of the fellow runners treated it as a carnival and brought along their digital cameras and cell phones with them, hoping to capture some of the memorable moments and share it with their friends while on the road.
Now imagine Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen dicing for the race lead, only to have their progress seriously hampered by not one or two, but tens of thousands of Super Aguris and Spykers wandering aimlessly and slowly in front of them.
In last year's race, Yours Truly was also one of these "moving chicanes" and overtaken (and almost bowled over) by some of the half-marathon runners who started the race some 30 minutes behind. Given his seriously exhausted condition at that time, Yours Truly had no idea which way to go to avoid being hit.
But when Yours Truly found himself without getting in the way of other quick runners this time around, he thought that he had beaten his time last year. But sadly it turns out that a better race course management by the officials had saved Yours Truly from being bundled over and tumbling all the way to the finish line. Yours Truly's time is some seven minutes slower than last year's time, and way off his personal best by a staggering 14 minutes.
Looks like Yours Truly had better eat fewer chips and do more cardios.
And being clumsy and chubby (and most tragically, being not much taller than Muggsy Bogues), Yours Truly dares not attempt the marathon or even the half-marathon. Yours Truly is more than happy to take part in the 10km race, which starts from Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, through the Western Harbour Tunnel and go all the way back to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
You can travel along the same route by taxi. But unfortunately you won't go very far as you'll be ticketed for making an illegal left-turn from Nathan Road onto Austin Road, the very first turn of the race.
Last Sunday's race was Yours Truly's fourth ever. Yours Truly has been running the 10km race since 2003, except 2005 when Yours Truly somehow forgot to enroll. The race always takes place in an early Sunday morning sometime after the Chinese New Year. As this is the only race in Hong Kong in which the runners will run through some of the busiest districts in Kowloon and Hong Kong (and the New Territories as well for the marathon and half-marathon runners), the popularity of the race has been increasing over the years, with a total of over 43,000 runners taking part in this year's race.
A lot of participants, like Yours Truly, are "Sunday runners" who seldom exercise and almost never go jogging. Given the high humidity during spring time in Hong Kong, many wonder if the race would pose a serious threat to the runners' well-being. And indeed after a runner had died from dehydration and exhaustion in last year's race, all the kind-hearted buddies advised Yours Truly not to push himself to the limit.
And so Yours Truly always tells himself it's merely an occasion for him to wake up early (three in the morning, a time when Yours Truly is very often still awake), breathe in the fresh air and to work out in the urban area. As expected, many of the fellow runners treated it as a carnival and brought along their digital cameras and cell phones with them, hoping to capture some of the memorable moments and share it with their friends while on the road.
Now imagine Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen dicing for the race lead, only to have their progress seriously hampered by not one or two, but tens of thousands of Super Aguris and Spykers wandering aimlessly and slowly in front of them.
In last year's race, Yours Truly was also one of these "moving chicanes" and overtaken (and almost bowled over) by some of the half-marathon runners who started the race some 30 minutes behind. Given his seriously exhausted condition at that time, Yours Truly had no idea which way to go to avoid being hit.
But when Yours Truly found himself without getting in the way of other quick runners this time around, he thought that he had beaten his time last year. But sadly it turns out that a better race course management by the officials had saved Yours Truly from being bundled over and tumbling all the way to the finish line. Yours Truly's time is some seven minutes slower than last year's time, and way off his personal best by a staggering 14 minutes.
Looks like Yours Truly had better eat fewer chips and do more cardios.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Public Enemy Number One
There is always someone like this around us.
He does his job far better than we do. For that he's being paid a lot of money for being one of the very best in the profession. Or to be exact, he isn't the all-round guy you're looking for, and he doesn't have a good relationship with his colleagues, but he does excel in "talking", one of the most important aspects of his job.
Most of the local and loyal customers of his company revere him, for his excellence in making speeches in the public. He has broken all kinds of records and won all sorts of accolades because of his sweet talk and literally has the world under his feet.
But one day, his boss found out that there is no way one can talk as well as he does, unless he has taken some magical candies and applied some mysterious notion. And a book written by two journalists has revealed a scandal suggesting that our buddy, among many others, has indeed cheated. Given his age, his talking ability should have receded dramatically, but that doesn't happen to him. His talking just keeps getting better and better. And his head and feet were getting bigger and bigger too, a possible side effect for using these substances. The candies and notion weren't illegal in his profession at that time, but using them has always been against the ethics. And since his enhanced ability has won him all the accolades and money, there is a huge outcry against him not only among his profession, but also across the country. Subsequently, his boss decided to outlaw these substances and anyone using them is liable to legal sanctions and expulsion from the business.
Understandably, his boss asked our buddy to assist in the investigation, as recent evidence suggests that there are a lot more people who have taken these now-illegal substances. But after he had testified that he has never "knowingly" taken these substances, his lawyers said that he cannot cooperate with the investigation at the moment.
Meanwhile, almost everyone who has been keeping track of his business has turned against him, branding him as a "cheat". They are absolutely sure that the accolades he's won and the records he's broken are the direct results of taking these substances, and wanted to remove his records from the record books. But not everyone has turned his back against him. His personal trainer would rather serve time in jail rather than turn against our buddy.
Speaking of jail time, the two journalists who revealed the scandal faced possible indictment for refusing to reveal to the court the source of their information. That leads to one of the biggest injustice in the history of mankind: The one who cheats doesn't or may never get punished, while the ones who reveal that the guy is cheating may face jail time.
To be fair to our buddy, he has never been tested positive for these substances. Yet last year he was found to have taken something equally evil, but shamelessly blamed it on his colleague, which is such a surprise given that he has never had any relationship with his colleagues. And to make matters worse, our buddy is approaching the most revered record of all-time. Without the help of these substances, the record would have remained in tact forever.
Even a child can connect the dots. How can our buddy be so shameless and not go away for good?
He does his job far better than we do. For that he's being paid a lot of money for being one of the very best in the profession. Or to be exact, he isn't the all-round guy you're looking for, and he doesn't have a good relationship with his colleagues, but he does excel in "talking", one of the most important aspects of his job.
Most of the local and loyal customers of his company revere him, for his excellence in making speeches in the public. He has broken all kinds of records and won all sorts of accolades because of his sweet talk and literally has the world under his feet.
But one day, his boss found out that there is no way one can talk as well as he does, unless he has taken some magical candies and applied some mysterious notion. And a book written by two journalists has revealed a scandal suggesting that our buddy, among many others, has indeed cheated. Given his age, his talking ability should have receded dramatically, but that doesn't happen to him. His talking just keeps getting better and better. And his head and feet were getting bigger and bigger too, a possible side effect for using these substances. The candies and notion weren't illegal in his profession at that time, but using them has always been against the ethics. And since his enhanced ability has won him all the accolades and money, there is a huge outcry against him not only among his profession, but also across the country. Subsequently, his boss decided to outlaw these substances and anyone using them is liable to legal sanctions and expulsion from the business.
Understandably, his boss asked our buddy to assist in the investigation, as recent evidence suggests that there are a lot more people who have taken these now-illegal substances. But after he had testified that he has never "knowingly" taken these substances, his lawyers said that he cannot cooperate with the investigation at the moment.
Meanwhile, almost everyone who has been keeping track of his business has turned against him, branding him as a "cheat". They are absolutely sure that the accolades he's won and the records he's broken are the direct results of taking these substances, and wanted to remove his records from the record books. But not everyone has turned his back against him. His personal trainer would rather serve time in jail rather than turn against our buddy.
Speaking of jail time, the two journalists who revealed the scandal faced possible indictment for refusing to reveal to the court the source of their information. That leads to one of the biggest injustice in the history of mankind: The one who cheats doesn't or may never get punished, while the ones who reveal that the guy is cheating may face jail time.
To be fair to our buddy, he has never been tested positive for these substances. Yet last year he was found to have taken something equally evil, but shamelessly blamed it on his colleague, which is such a surprise given that he has never had any relationship with his colleagues. And to make matters worse, our buddy is approaching the most revered record of all-time. Without the help of these substances, the record would have remained in tact forever.
Even a child can connect the dots. How can our buddy be so shameless and not go away for good?
Monday, March 12, 2007
A Cautionary Tale
Continuing my rumblings on JaMarcus Russell of Louisiana State ...
Russell is undoubtedly a physical specimen who can throw, run and do almost everything you ask of him. Some of the general managers have been comparing him with Daunte Culpepper of the Miami Dolphins, another huge quarterback in the size of a linebacker who can easily run over the defenders.
At his best, Culpepper can be a dominant player. He has been named to the Pro Bowl three times and was the NFL's leading passer in 2004 while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. His dual-threat (passing and rushing) quality has proven to be a nightmare for a lot of defenders. But lately Culpepper has been hampered by an assortment of injuries (major knee surgeries in 2005 and 2006) and off-the-field incidents (the "Love Boat" scandal) and has been a disappointment since being traded to the Dolphins before the 2006 season.
Meanwhile, some have also compared Russell with Michael Vick. Vick, the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, is a former first overall pick in 2001 and has been one of the biggest stars in the league for his swagger and versatility.
But the flip side of versatility is the fact that, you can do a lot of things but none exceptionally well. Vick's professional career has largely been a disappointment marred by off-the-field incidents. (Who can forget his water bottle with a secret compartment?) Of course he can run very well and elude would-be tacklers like a great running back, but his throwing has always been suspect and erratic, with a career completion rate of a dismal 53%, despite having three first-round wide receivers at his side last year.
And history tells us that the odds aren't on the side of the dual-threat quarterbacks either. None of them has led his team to a Super Bowl victory ever. Meanwhile, almost all the great quarterbacks (Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning, etc.) are regarded as immobile and one-dimensional. That means they can only throw the ball well and you don't expect them to do any running at all. Running, after all, is the job of the running backs.
My gut feeling is that Brady Quinn, the University of Notre Dame quarterback whose stock has been plummeting in recent weeks amidst concerns over his immobility and below-par big-game performance, will turn out to be yet another Tom Brady or Tony Romo, that is, players without great overall athleticism but gifted with an accurate throwing arm and excellent leadership skills. Bear in mind that Brady was drafted in the sixth round, while Romo an undrafted free agent.
So the writing is on the wall for the teams prepared to let Quinn slip down the draft board: It is going to come back to haunt you.
Russell is undoubtedly a physical specimen who can throw, run and do almost everything you ask of him. Some of the general managers have been comparing him with Daunte Culpepper of the Miami Dolphins, another huge quarterback in the size of a linebacker who can easily run over the defenders.
At his best, Culpepper can be a dominant player. He has been named to the Pro Bowl three times and was the NFL's leading passer in 2004 while playing for the Minnesota Vikings. His dual-threat (passing and rushing) quality has proven to be a nightmare for a lot of defenders. But lately Culpepper has been hampered by an assortment of injuries (major knee surgeries in 2005 and 2006) and off-the-field incidents (the "Love Boat" scandal) and has been a disappointment since being traded to the Dolphins before the 2006 season.
Meanwhile, some have also compared Russell with Michael Vick. Vick, the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, is a former first overall pick in 2001 and has been one of the biggest stars in the league for his swagger and versatility.
But the flip side of versatility is the fact that, you can do a lot of things but none exceptionally well. Vick's professional career has largely been a disappointment marred by off-the-field incidents. (Who can forget his water bottle with a secret compartment?) Of course he can run very well and elude would-be tacklers like a great running back, but his throwing has always been suspect and erratic, with a career completion rate of a dismal 53%, despite having three first-round wide receivers at his side last year.
And history tells us that the odds aren't on the side of the dual-threat quarterbacks either. None of them has led his team to a Super Bowl victory ever. Meanwhile, almost all the great quarterbacks (Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning, etc.) are regarded as immobile and one-dimensional. That means they can only throw the ball well and you don't expect them to do any running at all. Running, after all, is the job of the running backs.
My gut feeling is that Brady Quinn, the University of Notre Dame quarterback whose stock has been plummeting in recent weeks amidst concerns over his immobility and below-par big-game performance, will turn out to be yet another Tom Brady or Tony Romo, that is, players without great overall athleticism but gifted with an accurate throwing arm and excellent leadership skills. Bear in mind that Brady was drafted in the sixth round, while Romo an undrafted free agent.
So the writing is on the wall for the teams prepared to let Quinn slip down the draft board: It is going to come back to haunt you.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
"EX" As in Excellence
There is an old saying that "History always repeats itself". Ever since we learned how to read, people would start telling us to learn the history of everything, as it would shed us light on how things will turn out in future. We are also taught that we should embrace history but not to ignore it, as doing so would give us a huge advantage over others.
Now if that is true, the Oakland Raiders in the NFL should have been a huge success. Instead, they have been languishing in the wrong end in all major statistical categories in recent years. Its famous (or now infamous) motto of "Commitment to Excellence" has never been more inaccurate.
The Raiders is a team rooted in the past. Last season, their head coach was Art Shell, a Hall-of-Fame player on his own right, who was once named Coach of the Year during his previous stint with the Raiders. On paper, it looked very good indeed.
But the problem is, he won the award way back in 1990. He was fired by team owner Al Davis after the 1994 season, and had not been a head coach ever since before returning to the team last year.
And to make matters worse, Shell decided to bring back his ally Tom Walsh as his offensive coordinator. Now, being loyal to your buddies is a highly honourable act, but Walsh had been out of football since the early 1990s'. What's even more maddening is that during these two coaching stints, he had been running a bed-and-breakfast (what?) in Idaho, of all places. And that's not a typo.
That is simply ridiculous.
To be fair to Walsh, you just can't expect someone out of football for such a long time to come back and still be able to master the game plan. So not surprisingly, Walsh's offensive game plan proved to be too simple and easily defendable. Despite fielding a very good defense and having one of the most explosive wide receivers in the game in Randy Moss, the Raiders were so miserable in offense that they ranked last it all major offensive statistic categories. They eventually finished with a 2-14 record, the worst in the league.
There is always a silver lining in any story which sounds terrible, and there is no exception to this one. The consolation for their abysmal record is the top pick of the upcoming NFL Draft, and it looks like they will select quarterback JaMarcus Russell of Louisiana State. That will probably boost their ticket sales and allow them to restock their roster with quality players.
But just don't find another guy who has been running a bed-and-breakfast for years to coach them. Please.
Now if that is true, the Oakland Raiders in the NFL should have been a huge success. Instead, they have been languishing in the wrong end in all major statistical categories in recent years. Its famous (or now infamous) motto of "Commitment to Excellence" has never been more inaccurate.
The Raiders is a team rooted in the past. Last season, their head coach was Art Shell, a Hall-of-Fame player on his own right, who was once named Coach of the Year during his previous stint with the Raiders. On paper, it looked very good indeed.
But the problem is, he won the award way back in 1990. He was fired by team owner Al Davis after the 1994 season, and had not been a head coach ever since before returning to the team last year.
And to make matters worse, Shell decided to bring back his ally Tom Walsh as his offensive coordinator. Now, being loyal to your buddies is a highly honourable act, but Walsh had been out of football since the early 1990s'. What's even more maddening is that during these two coaching stints, he had been running a bed-and-breakfast (what?) in Idaho, of all places. And that's not a typo.
That is simply ridiculous.
To be fair to Walsh, you just can't expect someone out of football for such a long time to come back and still be able to master the game plan. So not surprisingly, Walsh's offensive game plan proved to be too simple and easily defendable. Despite fielding a very good defense and having one of the most explosive wide receivers in the game in Randy Moss, the Raiders were so miserable in offense that they ranked last it all major offensive statistic categories. They eventually finished with a 2-14 record, the worst in the league.
There is always a silver lining in any story which sounds terrible, and there is no exception to this one. The consolation for their abysmal record is the top pick of the upcoming NFL Draft, and it looks like they will select quarterback JaMarcus Russell of Louisiana State. That will probably boost their ticket sales and allow them to restock their roster with quality players.
But just don't find another guy who has been running a bed-and-breakfast for years to coach them. Please.
Monday, March 05, 2007
The Colourful World of Formula One
As many of you may have noticed from my previous rumblings, I have never been a Ferrari fan, except during the early 90s' when my all-time favourite Alain Prost was with the team. I don't like the so called "business-like" approach and the ruthlessness that Michael Schumacher and co have brought to the team (or put it simply, I hate him to the guts). But this year they have done something which I just can't agree more.
No, I'm neither talking about the retirement of Schumacher, nor the one-year sabbatical taken by Ross Brawn (although I really thank God that they have finally gone away). I'm talking about the decision to paint their cars completely red, including the front wings and the rear wings.
When we think of a typical and classic Ferrari race car, it just has to be red. You simply can't think of any colour. Given the fact that red is the national racing colour of Italy, Ferraris in the earlier days were indeed completely red.
Yet for some reason, since the introduction of wings in Formula One cars in the late 60s', Ferrari has never painted their wings red. Niki Lauda won the first two of his three world championship titles in 1975 and 1977 and survived his fiery crash at Nürburgring in 1976 all in a Ferrari with silver wings. Gilles Villeneuve was killed at Zolder in 1982 also in a silver-winged Ferrari. Gerhard Berger won in Monza just weeks after Enzo Ferrari's death in 1988 in a black-winged Ferrari. And when Schumi dominated Formula One not so long ago, the wings of his Ferrari were predominantly white, probably for accommodating the colour scheme of its main sponsor Marlboro.
So you can understand my great surprise and excitement when I first saw the pictures of the new Ferraris in action. The name "Marlboro" is still atop the rear wing, but is now in white fonts with black trim. Now that's what I call a neat looking car.
Meanwhile, the defending constructor's champion, Renault, has also undergone a major facelift, with Dutch insurance magnate ING Group taking over as the title sponsor. That means the Renaults have now changed from a classic powder blue and yellow colour scheme to a messy orange-yellow-white-blue one. To me they look like the blindingly outrageous cycling jerseys of the Tour de France more than anything else.
Speaking of being outrageous, Honda's paint scheme is, by far, the most amazing one in Formula One this year (some would even say ever). Unlike teams such as Ferrari and Renault, they don't have an "outside" title sponsor, so there are literally rooms for them to manoeuvre. What they have come up with is an ingenious concept called an "Earth Car", with the earth as their paint job in an attempt to enhance our awareness towards environmental proection.
Personally I think it's just a sick idea to ensure the safety and success of their drivers. Hey, who dares damage and upset the earth?
No, I'm neither talking about the retirement of Schumacher, nor the one-year sabbatical taken by Ross Brawn (although I really thank God that they have finally gone away). I'm talking about the decision to paint their cars completely red, including the front wings and the rear wings.
When we think of a typical and classic Ferrari race car, it just has to be red. You simply can't think of any colour. Given the fact that red is the national racing colour of Italy, Ferraris in the earlier days were indeed completely red.
Yet for some reason, since the introduction of wings in Formula One cars in the late 60s', Ferrari has never painted their wings red. Niki Lauda won the first two of his three world championship titles in 1975 and 1977 and survived his fiery crash at Nürburgring in 1976 all in a Ferrari with silver wings. Gilles Villeneuve was killed at Zolder in 1982 also in a silver-winged Ferrari. Gerhard Berger won in Monza just weeks after Enzo Ferrari's death in 1988 in a black-winged Ferrari. And when Schumi dominated Formula One not so long ago, the wings of his Ferrari were predominantly white, probably for accommodating the colour scheme of its main sponsor Marlboro.
So you can understand my great surprise and excitement when I first saw the pictures of the new Ferraris in action. The name "Marlboro" is still atop the rear wing, but is now in white fonts with black trim. Now that's what I call a neat looking car.
Meanwhile, the defending constructor's champion, Renault, has also undergone a major facelift, with Dutch insurance magnate ING Group taking over as the title sponsor. That means the Renaults have now changed from a classic powder blue and yellow colour scheme to a messy orange-yellow-white-blue one. To me they look like the blindingly outrageous cycling jerseys of the Tour de France more than anything else.
Speaking of being outrageous, Honda's paint scheme is, by far, the most amazing one in Formula One this year (some would even say ever). Unlike teams such as Ferrari and Renault, they don't have an "outside" title sponsor, so there are literally rooms for them to manoeuvre. What they have come up with is an ingenious concept called an "Earth Car", with the earth as their paint job in an attempt to enhance our awareness towards environmental proection.
Personally I think it's just a sick idea to ensure the safety and success of their drivers. Hey, who dares damage and upset the earth?
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Nomination for the Academy Award
Before last year's World Cup final, I decided to watch the Formula One Grand Prix Review 1982 once again.
I have always been a huge Netherlands fan. Yet since it had been knocked out by Portugal in the round of 16, I decided to watch the remaining games as a pure spectator, not rooting for any of the teams still in the hunt.
When Italy barely scraped past Australia in the last 16 in controversial circumstances, the press and media around the world sensed something fishy and started comparing the team with the World Cup-winning squad in 1982. You know, the scandals, the imminent relegation of big clubs (a couple of clubs had been docked points, while Juventus was the only one to be relegated as a penalty), and the threatening of legal actions. All the messy stuff.
And sensing something strange may indeed happen, I decided to watch that 1982 tape again, one I had bought for a very long time. By then, I had become a half-hearted Italian fan, and the rest is history.
The 1982 season is generally regarded as the most dramatic ever in Formula One history. To quote Don Capps, who has written an excellent review on the 1982 season in the then Atlasf1 website, it had "political struggle for control of Grand Prix racing, ... betrayal, death, victory, defeat, injury, renewal, and everything else in between as well."
Not everyone is interested in Formula One, or motor-racing for that matter. But if you could afford it, I strongly suggest you buy one, be it a VCD, DVD or VHS version. The commentary by Clive James is excellent, full of wits and deadpan humour. You may have a hard time remembering the names, teams and personnel at first, but once you have got going, you will find it far more amazing and captivating than many of the Hollywood blockbusters. It simply defies your belief.
And to me, it should definitely be nominated as the best documentary feature for the Academy Award.
I have always been a huge Netherlands fan. Yet since it had been knocked out by Portugal in the round of 16, I decided to watch the remaining games as a pure spectator, not rooting for any of the teams still in the hunt.
When Italy barely scraped past Australia in the last 16 in controversial circumstances, the press and media around the world sensed something fishy and started comparing the team with the World Cup-winning squad in 1982. You know, the scandals, the imminent relegation of big clubs (a couple of clubs had been docked points, while Juventus was the only one to be relegated as a penalty), and the threatening of legal actions. All the messy stuff.
And sensing something strange may indeed happen, I decided to watch that 1982 tape again, one I had bought for a very long time. By then, I had become a half-hearted Italian fan, and the rest is history.
The 1982 season is generally regarded as the most dramatic ever in Formula One history. To quote Don Capps, who has written an excellent review on the 1982 season in the then Atlasf1 website, it had "political struggle for control of Grand Prix racing, ... betrayal, death, victory, defeat, injury, renewal, and everything else in between as well."
Not everyone is interested in Formula One, or motor-racing for that matter. But if you could afford it, I strongly suggest you buy one, be it a VCD, DVD or VHS version. The commentary by Clive James is excellent, full of wits and deadpan humour. You may have a hard time remembering the names, teams and personnel at first, but once you have got going, you will find it far more amazing and captivating than many of the Hollywood blockbusters. It simply defies your belief.
And to me, it should definitely be nominated as the best documentary feature for the Academy Award.
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