Yours Truly is really happy for Marco Melandri, for winning Race One in the World Superbike Championship race at Donington Park over the weekend.
After years struggling in the MotoGP circuit, Melandri finally found his niche and nailed long-time race leader Jakub Smrž with two laps to go for a comfortable victory.
Melandri used to be one of the front-runners in MotoGP a not so long ago. Riding for Gresini Honda in 2005, he was runner-up to Valentino Rossi with two victories.
(One of the most poignant images that year was Rossi crashing into Melandri at Motegi and badly damaged Melandri's ankle. Rossi, knowing that the crash was completely his fault, came rushing over to his friend's rescue and to apologise.)
The following year he won three more races and finished fourth in the standings. But then things went downhill, fast. Switching to Ducati in 2008, he surprisingly struggled with pace and was resigned to the minor placings throughout the year, a stark contrast to teammate Casey Stoner, the defending world champion that year. In 2009 he had another bad year with Kawasaki and although he returned to Gresini Honda in 2010, he was never the same.
And so he was exiled to the World Superbike series and luckily for him, he was finally able to show how good a rider he still is, with three podium finishes in the first four races so far.
Yours Truly must be a lucky charm for him. Being an occasional follower of MotoGP and Superbike races, Yours Truly doesn't sit down and watch these races live very often.
One of the races Yours Truly remembers watching live on TV was the Australian Grand Prix in 2006 where, in changing weather conditions, Melandri mastered the weather and came from midfield to win the race.
And as Yours Truly watched the Superbike race on the couch, he always kept his eyes on Melandri, who was stuck in fourth place early on. But once he climbed up to second, Yours Truly just knew that he was going to catch Smrž for the win.
And for sure he did.
Just hope that there would be more to come for this likeable underdog.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Not Exactly a Throw-in
While everyone was excited about where Carmelo Anthony would end up with during the NBA trade deadline last week, the move of another equally good player caught the attention of Yours Truly.
And if the New York Knicks make great strides in the coming seasons, they would look back at THAT trade which not only netted them Carmelo, but that equally good player as well.
Chauncey Billups.
Yours Truly has to admit that he does not follow the NBA really closely. But even though the Denver Nuggets ended up with some nice pieces like Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and a couple of draft picks, on paper the Knicks ended up as the big winner in this lop-sided trade.
Everyone knows how good Carmelo is. Superstars like him do not become available very often, and the Knicks finally made the move to capture him. And in Billups, the Knicks also acquired a wily point guard who, if you remember, was the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 while with the Detroit Pistons.
Some may say that the Knicks have given up a lot of players with tremendous upside. The truth is, Chandler and Felton have been in the league for a few years and haven't actually done much. Gallinari may be a good shooting guard but still needs time to develop. For the draft picks, let's just say that they won't mean much unless they are the top-three picks in a very strong draft. The draft, people use to say, is just a crapshoot.
The departure of LeBron James has left the Cleveland Cavaliers in shambles. The Nuggets fare much better than the Cavs as they managed to salvage some valuable pieces in return. But their future, Yours Truly would say, look just as bleak, after losing not one, but two excellent players in a single trade.
And if the New York Knicks make great strides in the coming seasons, they would look back at THAT trade which not only netted them Carmelo, but that equally good player as well.
Chauncey Billups.
Yours Truly has to admit that he does not follow the NBA really closely. But even though the Denver Nuggets ended up with some nice pieces like Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and a couple of draft picks, on paper the Knicks ended up as the big winner in this lop-sided trade.
Everyone knows how good Carmelo is. Superstars like him do not become available very often, and the Knicks finally made the move to capture him. And in Billups, the Knicks also acquired a wily point guard who, if you remember, was the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 while with the Detroit Pistons.
Some may say that the Knicks have given up a lot of players with tremendous upside. The truth is, Chandler and Felton have been in the league for a few years and haven't actually done much. Gallinari may be a good shooting guard but still needs time to develop. For the draft picks, let's just say that they won't mean much unless they are the top-three picks in a very strong draft. The draft, people use to say, is just a crapshoot.
The departure of LeBron James has left the Cleveland Cavaliers in shambles. The Nuggets fare much better than the Cavs as they managed to salvage some valuable pieces in return. But their future, Yours Truly would say, look just as bleak, after losing not one, but two excellent players in a single trade.
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