Meaty Issues

Snooker player Stephen Lee, probably just a tad more chubby than Yours Truly, has been suspended for 12 years due to match-fixing charges.

Now 38, Lee will be eligible to return to snooker in October 2024, on the day he will turn 50 to be exact.

On the plus side, 50 is not old in snooker. When the legendary Ray Reardon beat Jimmy White to win the Professional Players Tournament in 1982, he was 50.

Nevertheless, it is still extremely sad for Yours Truly, as there is one less chubby guy to root for in the world of sports, for the next 12 years no less.

Luckily, Shaun Murphy is still lurking out there, licking his chops for more.

Way Off the Mark

Mark Webber is a popular Formula One driver because of his outspokenness and candidness. Whenever he speaks, people like Yours Truly listen as he always hits the bull's eyes.

However, when he complained about being penalised for taking a taxi ride from Fernando Alonso after the conclusion of the Singapore Grand Prix, Yours Truly thinks there is one thing he should do.

Shut up.

As has been made clear time and again by the stewards and so many others, he was not penalised for the taxi ride per se. Rather, he was punished for creating an extremely dangerous situation.

First, Nico Rosberg almost ran over him. Then Lewis Hamilton had to take evasive action to avoid Alonso's car.

And comparisons have also been made with Tom Pryce's horrific accident at the South African Grand Prix in 1977.

Webber is one of the smartest drivers in Formula One. But this time, he has out-smarted himself, and almost cost himself dearly. 

Six-Month Offense

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been under a lot of criticism lately.

It has nothing to do with his play. Instead, he was panned by many for missing the birth of his second child and opting to play against the Cleveland Browns last Sunday instead.

While sticking with your teammates is something one should be proud of, leaving your wife behind at childbirth can be dangerous, as no one knows if and when complications may set in.

For this, Yours Truly really believes that Flacco has no one to blame but himself.

Look, the NFL season starts in September and ends in February. That means NFL players have a six-month window when they can be at their wives' side during childbirth. But somehow, Flacco is two weeks late.

Like what Dan Patrick says, Flacco may be a good clock manager, but definitely not a good calendar manager.

Many Happy Returns?

Juan Pablo Montoya has signed with Team Penske and will return to IndyCar next year.

He won the CART title in 1999 with seven victories, and took three more wins the following year. Racing in Formula One between 2001 and 2006, he scored seven victories for Williams and McLaren. Since 2007, he has been racing in NASCAR and has two victories, one each in 2007 and 2010.

And next year he will return to the venue where he first entered the limelight.

Montoya's return to IndyCar after a stint in Formula One reminds Yours Truly of another driver who has taken a similar path before.

Alex Zanardi.

In fact, Montoya and Zanardi were "traded" for one another in 1999. That year, Williams traded Montoya, their test driver, to the Ganassi team in CART for Zanardi, then two-time defending champion of CART, for financial reasons.

Unfortunately, Zanardi did not have much success with Williams that year, and his return to IndyCar in 2001 ended in tragic circumstances.

Yours Truly is a huge fan for both drivers, especially for Zanardi, who has shown remarkable courage and determination since the horrific accident, and has even won a gold medal in para-cycling at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

At the age of 38, many think that Montoya is way past in prime. Yours Truly certainly hopes that he will fare much better than Zanardi did.

In more ways than one.

A League of Their Own

With seven laps to go at NASCAR's Federated Auto Parts 400, Brian Pattie, crew chief for Clint Bowyer of Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR), said to Bowyer over the radio:

"39 (Ryan Newman) is going to win the race. Is your arm starting to hurt? I bet it's hot in there. Itch it." (From ESPN.com)

Shortly afterwards, Bowyer spun.

Subsequently, Newman, who was poised to win the race, had a slow pit stop which cost him victory as well as a spot in the Chase.

When race resumed after Bowyer's spin with just three laps to go, MWR's general manager Ty Norris said to his driver Brian Vickers:

"We need that one point. We're probably going to pit here on green," Norris says.

"Are you talking to me? I don't understand, pit right now?" asked Vickers.

"You've got to pit this time. We need that one point," Norris replied.

"10-4. Do I got a tire going down?" Vickers asked.

Vickers then pitted as the field went green. When he asked after if his crew found anything with the tire, Norris replied, "I'll see you after the race, Brian, I owe you a kiss." (From ESPN.com)

The result? Joey Logano of Penske Racing was able to move ahead of Vickers, gain positions and score enough points to qualify for the Chase on points alone, and free up a wildcard spot for Martin Truex Jr., the third MWR driver, for the Chase. The victim this time is Jeff Gordon, who would have qualified for the Chase but for Bowyer's spin, and now have lost out to Logano by a single point.

Two questionable moves by MWR, two beneficiaries in Logano and Truex, and two victims in Newman and Gordon.

Subsequently, NASCAR imposed fines and point penalties to all MWR drivers, resulting in Newman taking Treux's place in the Chase. But they did not do anything to bring Gordon back into the Chase.

At first it looked like Logano is an innocent and worthy beneficiary. But new evidence (radio conversation, again) has surfaced which showed that the small Front Row Motorsports team, like Penske Racing being Ford customers, had ordered its driver David Gilliland to slow down considerably and let Logano through to gain those vital points.

Looks like the Chase field is far from set yet.

For Yours Truly, the whole thing is not about team orders per se. It is more about the way in which they were carried out. MWR carried out the team orders in probably the clumsiest way ever. It all sounded so stupid and obvious. Why didn't they devise some sort of codes?

One classic example came to mind. At the 2010 German Grand Prix, Felipe Massa was informed by his Ferrari engineer over the radio:

"Fernando (Alonso) is faster than you. Can you confirm you understand that message?"

Massa then eased off and let Alonso through to victory. While Ferrari was fined by the stewards, the results stood.

Then at the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, the last race of the season, Red Bull told Sebastian Vettel, who has already secured the World Championship, over the radio, that he had a gearbox problem and had to slow down.

Eventually, his teammate Mark Webber went past to secure his belated first win of the season, and many believe that Red Bull pulled it off remarkably well.

They always say that Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsports.

Now Yours Truly cannot agree more, in more ways than one.

A False Dawn?

Since the opening of Jerry's World, the Dallas Cowboys have never beaten the New York Giants at home.

And even with six turnovers, they could only barely win 36-31 last Sunday.

On a positive note, the Cowboys forced only 16 turnovers in the entire 2012 season. In the first quarter against the Giants alone, they had three, including an interception by DeMarcus Ware on the very first play from scrimmage.

But even with those six turnovers, the Cowboys once again failed to take advantage. Not only did they give up four touchdown passes to Eli Manning and a huge chunk of yardage, they also failed to sustain their drives when they desperately needed to milk the clock.

With less than two minutes to go, a fortuitous deflection gifted Brandon Carr a 49-yard interception return for a touchdown, and gave the Cowboys a 36-24 lead. But still they managed to give up another touchdown with less than 20 seconds to go which set up yet another nail-biting finish.

When the ball bounced crazily during the ensuing onside kick, Yours Truly really thought that the Giants would recover the ball. Thankfully, Sean Lee was alert enough to be the first player to pounce on the loose ball to finally seal the deal.

An ugly win is still a win, and the six turnovers forced are definitely worth cheering for. But even with the arrival of Monte Kiffin, the old trait of giving up big plays after big plays is still very much in evidence. And even with Bill Callahan now calling the plays, they still cannot maintain a consistent rushing attack.

Is it over-reaction after just one game? Maybe, but Yours Truly still very much agrees with what someone once tweeted recently.

That is, being a Cowboys fan is an "existential horror".

Godsend for Arsène

Arsène Wenger is one very lucky man.

For years, he has been known as a spend-thrift. He has never been a believer of spending big for big name players. He is so confident of his Midas touch that he always thinks he can turn virtually unknown players (see Touré, Kolo and Koscielny, Laurent) into stars.

But if Gareth Bale hasn't finally completed his protracted move to Real Madrid, and if Mesut Özil hasn't lost his place in Real to Bale in this World Cup year, Yours Truly really wonders who Wenger could have signed in placate his angry fans in this transfer window.

Yours truly really believes that Ozil is a world-class talent who perfectly fits the bill as an Arsenal player. But for Wenger, Ozil is more than a perfect player for him.

He is also a Godsend that falls squarely onto his lap.