The future of Michael Schumacher is one of the hottest topics in Formula One recently.
Schumi's contract with Ferrari runs until the end of this season. However, it has long been rumoured that Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, currently with McLaren, has signed an initial agreement to join the Prancing Horse next season, to partner Schumi who will sign an extension in the near future.
The arrival of Kimi would mean that Brazilian Felipe Massa, currently the understudy to Schumi at Ferrari, will be demoted to test driving duties.
Massa, having won last Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, has been a pleasant surprise this season. Despite a poor start, he has climbed all the way back to third place in the Championship, and his consistency is one of the biggest reasons Ferrari is now mounting a strong fight in the Constructors' Championship. His outstanding form (and in particular his win in Turkey) has won the backing of his race engineer, who said that Massa deserves to keep his seat next season.
However, Massa's good form comes at a price.
A serious headache for Jean Todt, the team principal of Ferrari.
Had Massa been struggling this season (as many had expected before the start of the season), Todt would have all the excuses in the world to relegate him to testing duties for next season. However, with Massa performing way beyond everyone's expectation, it will be extremely difficult and unfair for him to lose his seat.
And given Schumi's good performance this season, and his enthusiasm displayed this season according to some team members, it's also hard to imagine him to call it a day, even at the advanced age of 38.
And if the rumours surrounding Kimi are true (and no one expects that Ferrari signs Kimi as a test driver), then there will only be one seat available next to him at Ferrari next season. Would it be Schumi, who keeps going at the age of 39, by far the oldest driver on the track? Or would Massa keep his seat, replacing the retired Schumi thanks to his recent emergence?
Todt probably wishes that Massa had not won in Turkey.
As things turn out, Yours Truly now has to humbly eat my own words, for having a change of mind regarding the situation at Ferrari.
Yours Truly believes that when Ferrari announce their driver line-up during the Italian Grand Prix in September, we will be told that Schumi will retire, and Kimi and Massa will drive for them next season.
The reason: Ross Brawn, Ferrari's technical director, is going to take a year of sabbatical next season. Brawn has been instrumental in the success of Schumi, as all of Schumi's World Championship titles have been won with Brawn being his technical director in both Benetton and Ferrari teams. He hasn't elaborated too much on his decision, which has only fuelled further speculations among racing fans.
As the famous motor-racing journalist Nigel Roebuck has pointed out, Brawn will continue as long as Schumi does, and that he doesn't expect Brawn to take a sabbatical while Schumi is still driving. In short, he believes that Schumi is going to retire at the end of the season.
So enjoy Schumi's racing while he's still around. No doubt he is the most successful Grand Prix driver ever. A talent like him will not come around very often.
And Formula One fans can finally expect the dawn of a new era.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Massa's Masterpiece
Compared with the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago, last Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix was a mere procession.
To the disappointment of many, there was no rain, and the Ferrari team once again dominated qualifying, with both cars occupying the front row of the grid. And one of its drivers led from start to finish, without being challenged by the rest of the field. Nothing surprising about that.
But what is surprising is that the victor was not Michael Schumacher. It was Brazilian Felipe Massa, who won the first Formula One race in his career. He did it the Schumi way: Total domination.
In qualifying, Schumi was the fastest during the first two of three sessions, and it looked as though he would grab his fifth pole position of the season. Yet Schumi uncharacteristically lost his nerve in the final crucial session and ran wide on a couple of times, ruining some of best lap times. It was Massa who picked up the pieces and secured his first ever pole position.
With both Renaults on the second row, an electric start was expected. And the fans were not disappointed. Massa got off the line very well, and Schumi swerved to the back of Massa, trying to fend off Fernando Alonso on the outside. But Giancarlo Fisichella found a gap on Schumi's inside and it looked like Fisi would either overtake or crash into both Schumi and Alonso. Being the considerate driver as ever, Fisi did the sensible thing: He braked VERY hard trying to avoid a collision with the two Championship leaders, which he succeeded. Unfortunately, Fisi spun under heavy braking and was stranded in the middle of the track in the wrong way, and several cars crashed into each other as a result. Fisi managed to keep going and pit for a new front wing, dropping him all the way to the back of the field.
Incidentally, the Renault team praised Fisi for his generosity in sacrificing himself for the sake of his teammate.
The two Ferraris built a commanding lead on Alonso, but it all changed on lap 13 when Vitantonio Liuzzi spun at exactly the same spot as Fisi but couldn't get going. The safety car was summoned and both Ferraris were called into the pits at the same time. The problem was, there was only one pit slot for each team, and so Schumi had to queue up behind Massa for new tyres and fuel, thereby enabling Alonso to take second place for the re-start.
Massa though, was having the best day of his life. His lead was never threatened and he had never put a foot wrong. To the surprise of many, it was Schumi who committed a couple of mistakes, including running wide at the fascinating four-apex turn eight, which cost him time in his pursuit of Alonso. Alonso seized the opportunity to pick up valuable seconds and when he rejoined the race after the second pit stop, he was still in front of Schumi.
But the day belonged to Massa, a new-comer to the Ferrari team. He took his first victory of his career, five seconds ahead of Alonso who had Schumi all over him. Massa's win made him the second first-time winner in as many races, following Jenson Button's triumph in Hungary. And it's the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003 that saw two drivers picked up their first career win in consecutive races.
By finishing in front of Schumi, Alonso extended his lead in the Championship by two points to 12. And despite the spin, Fisi fought all the way back to sixth and managed to protect Renault's lead in the Constructors' Championship. However, the on-form Ferrari is now only five points adrift with four races to go.
To the disappointment of many, there was no rain, and the Ferrari team once again dominated qualifying, with both cars occupying the front row of the grid. And one of its drivers led from start to finish, without being challenged by the rest of the field. Nothing surprising about that.
But what is surprising is that the victor was not Michael Schumacher. It was Brazilian Felipe Massa, who won the first Formula One race in his career. He did it the Schumi way: Total domination.
In qualifying, Schumi was the fastest during the first two of three sessions, and it looked as though he would grab his fifth pole position of the season. Yet Schumi uncharacteristically lost his nerve in the final crucial session and ran wide on a couple of times, ruining some of best lap times. It was Massa who picked up the pieces and secured his first ever pole position.
With both Renaults on the second row, an electric start was expected. And the fans were not disappointed. Massa got off the line very well, and Schumi swerved to the back of Massa, trying to fend off Fernando Alonso on the outside. But Giancarlo Fisichella found a gap on Schumi's inside and it looked like Fisi would either overtake or crash into both Schumi and Alonso. Being the considerate driver as ever, Fisi did the sensible thing: He braked VERY hard trying to avoid a collision with the two Championship leaders, which he succeeded. Unfortunately, Fisi spun under heavy braking and was stranded in the middle of the track in the wrong way, and several cars crashed into each other as a result. Fisi managed to keep going and pit for a new front wing, dropping him all the way to the back of the field.
Incidentally, the Renault team praised Fisi for his generosity in sacrificing himself for the sake of his teammate.
The two Ferraris built a commanding lead on Alonso, but it all changed on lap 13 when Vitantonio Liuzzi spun at exactly the same spot as Fisi but couldn't get going. The safety car was summoned and both Ferraris were called into the pits at the same time. The problem was, there was only one pit slot for each team, and so Schumi had to queue up behind Massa for new tyres and fuel, thereby enabling Alonso to take second place for the re-start.
Massa though, was having the best day of his life. His lead was never threatened and he had never put a foot wrong. To the surprise of many, it was Schumi who committed a couple of mistakes, including running wide at the fascinating four-apex turn eight, which cost him time in his pursuit of Alonso. Alonso seized the opportunity to pick up valuable seconds and when he rejoined the race after the second pit stop, he was still in front of Schumi.
But the day belonged to Massa, a new-comer to the Ferrari team. He took his first victory of his career, five seconds ahead of Alonso who had Schumi all over him. Massa's win made him the second first-time winner in as many races, following Jenson Button's triumph in Hungary. And it's the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003 that saw two drivers picked up their first career win in consecutive races.
By finishing in front of Schumi, Alonso extended his lead in the Championship by two points to 12. And despite the spin, Fisi fought all the way back to sixth and managed to protect Renault's lead in the Constructors' Championship. However, the on-form Ferrari is now only five points adrift with four races to go.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Bad (Luck) Amon
On paper, New Zealander Chris Amon had a fantastic record in Formula One. In a career spanning from 1963 to 1976, Amon won eight non-championship Formula One races and the Silverstone International Trophy in 1970. He also excelled in sportscar racing, having won the Daytona 24 Hours Race and the Monza 1000km in 1967, the Tasman Cup in 1969, and the much-coveted 24 Heures du Mans in 1966. He took part in 102 Grand Prix races, collected 83 championship points and went on the podium 11 times.
However, there is one thing that is missing from his resume.
A proper Formula One victory.
And this is largely due to his much lamented bad luck and bad timing throughout his career.
It's hard to imagine a person will be foiled by bad luck and bad timing for over a decade. Yet Amon had the talent to elude Lady Luck when she was embracing him. Some may say that it isn't luck that has deserted him. It's the other way around: It's him who deserted luck.
Amon's Formula One career took off in an inauspicious way in 1963, when he was supposed to partner Maurice Trigtinant for the opening race at Monaco. Yet an engine misfire by the French veteran forced Amon to surrender his car to his teammate.
In 1965, the team seemed destined for a better future when it was offered the BRM engines, one of the best at the time. Yet Amon was dropped by the team as per the condition for the use of BRM engines. Fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren soon snapped him up for his newly-formed McLaren team and promised him a ride in a second car, but that car never materialized. Similar fate awaited him when car owner Tim Parnell also promised to field a third car for him at Silverstone.
1966 started miserably as Amon couldn't secure a regular drive in Formula One. But the Cooper-Maserati team offered him a drive at the French Grand Prix, and planned to race him for the rest of the year. But John Surtees, the World Champion in 1964, suddenly became available after leaving Ferrari due to a major disagreement, and was soon snapped up by Cooper at the expense of Amon. Surtees then promptly won the season-ending race in Mexico. Spurned by Formula One, Amon spent time in sportscar racing and won the 24 Heures du Mans with McLaren.
It was his brilliant form in sportscar racing that caught the eyes of Enzo Ferrari, and he would join the team in 1967. But his Formula One career with Ferrari started in the worst possible way, when his teammate Lorenzo Bandini was killed in a fiery accident in Monaco, in just the second race of the season.
Amon's first real chance of Formula One glory came in Brands Hatch in 1968, when he was all over the back of Jo Siffert's Lotus but just couldn't find a way through, and had to settle for second. Three races later in Canada, Amon built a commanding lead of over a minute, only for his car to break down due to clutch problems with just 17 laps to go. In Spain in 1969, he was literally miles ahead again when his engine blew, costing him another victory.
In early 1970, he decided to leave Ferrari, which was showing signs of a revival, for the newly-formed March team. In 1971, he moved on to the French Matra team. Once again, his infamous bad luck cost him at least a couple of certain victories.
In the Italian Grand Prix in 1971, Amon secured the pole position and was leading the race with less than 10 laps to go. When the dirt collected by his helmet visor blocked his vision, he decided to peel off one of the visor films, a routine practice for the drivers now and then. Yet somehow the entire visor came off, and he had no choice but to slow down, allowing other drivers to go by. In the end, the unheralded Peter Gethin won the race in a photo-finish, where the top five cars separated by 0.6 second, and it was the fastest Formula One race at the time. Amon could only finish sixth, battling the discomfort in his eyes and face the rest of the way.
The French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand in 1972 was another glorious chance for Amon to break his duck. As per usual, he grabbed pole and pulled away from the field. This time though, he was thwarted by a puncture due to the cobblestones on the track. (Promising Austrian driver Helmut Marko even lost an eye when his visor was pierced by one of the pebbles during the race.) Amon had to pit (at that time when pitting for tyres would cost minutes), and when he returned, he charged all the way back to third, breaking the lap record with a huge margin on the way.
In a surprising move, he decided to race his own team in 1974. After struggling mightily for a couple of race, the Brabham team came calling, offering him a seat at one of the top teams at the time. But Amon turned them down, fearing that his departure would upset the morale of his team members. That year, Carlos Reutemann, a driver who many believed to be inferior to Amon, won three races with Brabham.
In his career, Amon has shown time and again he could flat-out beat the big boys driving for the top teams, despite his own car's decidedly lack of pace. Yet if he is not unlucky, he simply had no luck at all.
Talent-wise, Amon is in the class of the very good, if not great, drivers, and his misfortune is acknowledged by the racing fans and drivers alike. Fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked that, "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying".
However, there is one thing that is missing from his resume.
A proper Formula One victory.
And this is largely due to his much lamented bad luck and bad timing throughout his career.
It's hard to imagine a person will be foiled by bad luck and bad timing for over a decade. Yet Amon had the talent to elude Lady Luck when she was embracing him. Some may say that it isn't luck that has deserted him. It's the other way around: It's him who deserted luck.
Amon's Formula One career took off in an inauspicious way in 1963, when he was supposed to partner Maurice Trigtinant for the opening race at Monaco. Yet an engine misfire by the French veteran forced Amon to surrender his car to his teammate.
In 1965, the team seemed destined for a better future when it was offered the BRM engines, one of the best at the time. Yet Amon was dropped by the team as per the condition for the use of BRM engines. Fellow Kiwi Bruce McLaren soon snapped him up for his newly-formed McLaren team and promised him a ride in a second car, but that car never materialized. Similar fate awaited him when car owner Tim Parnell also promised to field a third car for him at Silverstone.
1966 started miserably as Amon couldn't secure a regular drive in Formula One. But the Cooper-Maserati team offered him a drive at the French Grand Prix, and planned to race him for the rest of the year. But John Surtees, the World Champion in 1964, suddenly became available after leaving Ferrari due to a major disagreement, and was soon snapped up by Cooper at the expense of Amon. Surtees then promptly won the season-ending race in Mexico. Spurned by Formula One, Amon spent time in sportscar racing and won the 24 Heures du Mans with McLaren.
It was his brilliant form in sportscar racing that caught the eyes of Enzo Ferrari, and he would join the team in 1967. But his Formula One career with Ferrari started in the worst possible way, when his teammate Lorenzo Bandini was killed in a fiery accident in Monaco, in just the second race of the season.
Amon's first real chance of Formula One glory came in Brands Hatch in 1968, when he was all over the back of Jo Siffert's Lotus but just couldn't find a way through, and had to settle for second. Three races later in Canada, Amon built a commanding lead of over a minute, only for his car to break down due to clutch problems with just 17 laps to go. In Spain in 1969, he was literally miles ahead again when his engine blew, costing him another victory.
In early 1970, he decided to leave Ferrari, which was showing signs of a revival, for the newly-formed March team. In 1971, he moved on to the French Matra team. Once again, his infamous bad luck cost him at least a couple of certain victories.
In the Italian Grand Prix in 1971, Amon secured the pole position and was leading the race with less than 10 laps to go. When the dirt collected by his helmet visor blocked his vision, he decided to peel off one of the visor films, a routine practice for the drivers now and then. Yet somehow the entire visor came off, and he had no choice but to slow down, allowing other drivers to go by. In the end, the unheralded Peter Gethin won the race in a photo-finish, where the top five cars separated by 0.6 second, and it was the fastest Formula One race at the time. Amon could only finish sixth, battling the discomfort in his eyes and face the rest of the way.
The French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand in 1972 was another glorious chance for Amon to break his duck. As per usual, he grabbed pole and pulled away from the field. This time though, he was thwarted by a puncture due to the cobblestones on the track. (Promising Austrian driver Helmut Marko even lost an eye when his visor was pierced by one of the pebbles during the race.) Amon had to pit (at that time when pitting for tyres would cost minutes), and when he returned, he charged all the way back to third, breaking the lap record with a huge margin on the way.
In a surprising move, he decided to race his own team in 1974. After struggling mightily for a couple of race, the Brabham team came calling, offering him a seat at one of the top teams at the time. But Amon turned them down, fearing that his departure would upset the morale of his team members. That year, Carlos Reutemann, a driver who many believed to be inferior to Amon, won three races with Brabham.
In his career, Amon has shown time and again he could flat-out beat the big boys driving for the top teams, despite his own car's decidedly lack of pace. Yet if he is not unlucky, he simply had no luck at all.
Talent-wise, Amon is in the class of the very good, if not great, drivers, and his misfortune is acknowledged by the racing fans and drivers alike. Fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked that, "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying".
Monday, August 28, 2006
Timing is Everything
When Mark Cuban sold his company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo! in mid-1999 for a staggering US$5.04 billion in stock, he may have had full anticipation of the imminent end of the so-called "Dot.com bubble". Had he held on to his company for too long, or had he asked for a higher price, the deal would not have gone through quick enough to save him from becoming yet another victim of the crash.
Yet the deal was made just in time, and the fortune accumulated from the sale enabled him to buy the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for US$285 million, a floundering NBA team at the time. Unlike other owners who remain in the luxury boxes during the games, Cuban enjoys sitting with his players at the sidelines, often trash-talking and jawing with players and referees on the court, drawing him hefty fines and suspensions from the NBA on numerous occasions.
Like business transactions, timing is the most crucial element for sporting excellence.
When Jean Alesi (incidentally whose wife, Kumiko Goto, was a famous Japanese singer-cum-actress who has featured in the local movie "City Hunter") debuted for the now-defunct Tyrrell team in the French Grand Prix in 1989, he was one of the hottest prospects and his fourth-place finish only confirmed his star potential and immense talent. In the opening race at Phoenix in 1990, he led for the first 34 laps in the underpowered Tyrrell before being overtaken by Ayrton Senna, who would go on to win his second of three World Championship titles that year.
Another second place in Monaco that year further solidified his "can't-miss" status, and top teams at the time like Ferrari and Williams all fought for his signature in 1991. And being a French-Sicilian, Alesi decided to sign with his "home" team, Ferrari, who was about to enter a five-year period of downturn in form. It's difficult to imagine now, but the Ferrari in the early 1990s' was simply neither fast nor reliable. And during Alesi's tenure at Ferrari from 1991 to 1995, Ferrari won exactly TWO races (Germany in 1994 and Canada in 1995), the latter being Alesi's only ever victory in Formula One, on his 31st birthday no less.
Things would turn out very much different had he signed with Williams before the 1991 season. The early 90s' was one of the most glorious periods for the Williams team (or any team). Powered by Renault engines, they collected 39 victories during the period, and saw its drivers like Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost being crowned the World Champion in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Given his immense talent, it's hard to imagine how many races or World Championship title Alesi would have won, had he made the "correct" choice at that time.
Alesi joined Ferrari at the wrong time, and he left the team at an even worse time.
He left Ferrari in 1996 (together with teammate Gerhard Berger) and joined the Benetton team, in a swap deal which saw Michael Schumacher joining the prancing horse. Schumi went on to rewrite virtually the entire Formula One record books with the Ferrari team, while Alesi was never competitive as being handicapped by the underperforming Benetton, which had brought Schumi his first two World Championship titles in 1994 and 1995.
Alesi made the wrong career choice at the wrong time, but at least Lady Luck smiled on him once when he won the race in Canada in 1995. Unfortunately though, someone else in Formula One has had even poorer luck than the French-Sicilian, a name so familiar among the racing fans that many are still wondering what might have been had he enjoyed any luck and better timing.
Yet the deal was made just in time, and the fortune accumulated from the sale enabled him to buy the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for US$285 million, a floundering NBA team at the time. Unlike other owners who remain in the luxury boxes during the games, Cuban enjoys sitting with his players at the sidelines, often trash-talking and jawing with players and referees on the court, drawing him hefty fines and suspensions from the NBA on numerous occasions.
Like business transactions, timing is the most crucial element for sporting excellence.
When Jean Alesi (incidentally whose wife, Kumiko Goto, was a famous Japanese singer-cum-actress who has featured in the local movie "City Hunter") debuted for the now-defunct Tyrrell team in the French Grand Prix in 1989, he was one of the hottest prospects and his fourth-place finish only confirmed his star potential and immense talent. In the opening race at Phoenix in 1990, he led for the first 34 laps in the underpowered Tyrrell before being overtaken by Ayrton Senna, who would go on to win his second of three World Championship titles that year.
Another second place in Monaco that year further solidified his "can't-miss" status, and top teams at the time like Ferrari and Williams all fought for his signature in 1991. And being a French-Sicilian, Alesi decided to sign with his "home" team, Ferrari, who was about to enter a five-year period of downturn in form. It's difficult to imagine now, but the Ferrari in the early 1990s' was simply neither fast nor reliable. And during Alesi's tenure at Ferrari from 1991 to 1995, Ferrari won exactly TWO races (Germany in 1994 and Canada in 1995), the latter being Alesi's only ever victory in Formula One, on his 31st birthday no less.
Things would turn out very much different had he signed with Williams before the 1991 season. The early 90s' was one of the most glorious periods for the Williams team (or any team). Powered by Renault engines, they collected 39 victories during the period, and saw its drivers like Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost being crowned the World Champion in 1992 and 1993 respectively. Given his immense talent, it's hard to imagine how many races or World Championship title Alesi would have won, had he made the "correct" choice at that time.
Alesi joined Ferrari at the wrong time, and he left the team at an even worse time.
He left Ferrari in 1996 (together with teammate Gerhard Berger) and joined the Benetton team, in a swap deal which saw Michael Schumacher joining the prancing horse. Schumi went on to rewrite virtually the entire Formula One record books with the Ferrari team, while Alesi was never competitive as being handicapped by the underperforming Benetton, which had brought Schumi his first two World Championship titles in 1994 and 1995.
Alesi made the wrong career choice at the wrong time, but at least Lady Luck smiled on him once when he won the race in Canada in 1995. Unfortunately though, someone else in Formula One has had even poorer luck than the French-Sicilian, a name so familiar among the racing fans that many are still wondering what might have been had he enjoyed any luck and better timing.
Friday, August 25, 2006
A New Season
With the kick-off of the new English Premier League season, it's time for a brief round-up for the first week.
Two-time defending champion Chelsea got off to a good start, with a comfortable 3-0 home win against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. With the addition of star players like Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, it was the old boys who dominated the headlines, as John Terry, Frank Lampard (why didn't he find the target in the World Cup?) and Didier Drogba all found the target.
In their next match, Shevchenko opened the scoring for Chelsea against Middlesborough, who is managed by first-year manager, former English international Gareth Southgate. It looked as though Chelsea could maintain its 100% record, but two goals in the last 10 minutes from Emanuel Pogatetz and Mark Viduka dashed their hopes and gave Boro their first victory of the season. In their first match at the new-promoted Reading, Boro took a 2-0 win in the first 21 minutes, only for the Royals to come back with three goals for a dramatic 3-2 win.
Last season's runners-up Manchester United is the only team with a 100% record after two matches so far. Yours Truly did watch a large portion of their first game against Fulham live on TV, but somehow managed to miss all the goals, as United scored FOUR TIMES in the first 20 minutes, on route to a 5-1 thrashing of the Cottagers.
Three days later, they travelled to Charlton Athletic and easily won by 2-0, and has already opened up a two-point gap over second-placed Portsmouth, who only drew 0-0 at Manchester City, following their impressive 3-0 home win against Blackburn Rovers on the opening day.
For the other half of the "Big Four", Liverpool and Arsenal had played only a league match apiece during the week, owing to their European commitment. Liverpool, a perennial slow starter, traveled to Bramall Lane to take on newly-promoted Sheffield United, a tricky fixture for them. A close-range header by Rob Hulse gave the home team the lead just 40 seconds into the second half, but a brave excursion by the outstanding Steven Gerrard (who else?) gave the visiting team a controversial penalty, which Robbie Fowler coolly converted for a well-deserved equaliser. In the end, a 1-1 draw was a fair result for both teams.
Arsenal, in their first match at the new state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium, fell behind to an Olof Mellberg header early in the second half. It was a sweet revenge for the Swedish international as he not only put his name on the record books as the first ever scorer at the new Emirates Stadium, but he also headed home by outjumping the Gunners' goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who started for Germany in their two recent wins over Sweden, including knocking Sweden out of the World Cup in the Round of 16.
But Brazilian Gilberto Silva saved the day for the Gunners, as his close range strike late in the game salvaged a point for the home team. The goal was created by second-half substitute Theo Walcott, whose dazzling display of skills down the left flank may have convinced some that he really deserved a place in the England's World Cup squad this summer.
Two-time defending champion Chelsea got off to a good start, with a comfortable 3-0 home win against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. With the addition of star players like Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, it was the old boys who dominated the headlines, as John Terry, Frank Lampard (why didn't he find the target in the World Cup?) and Didier Drogba all found the target.
In their next match, Shevchenko opened the scoring for Chelsea against Middlesborough, who is managed by first-year manager, former English international Gareth Southgate. It looked as though Chelsea could maintain its 100% record, but two goals in the last 10 minutes from Emanuel Pogatetz and Mark Viduka dashed their hopes and gave Boro their first victory of the season. In their first match at the new-promoted Reading, Boro took a 2-0 win in the first 21 minutes, only for the Royals to come back with three goals for a dramatic 3-2 win.
Last season's runners-up Manchester United is the only team with a 100% record after two matches so far. Yours Truly did watch a large portion of their first game against Fulham live on TV, but somehow managed to miss all the goals, as United scored FOUR TIMES in the first 20 minutes, on route to a 5-1 thrashing of the Cottagers.
Three days later, they travelled to Charlton Athletic and easily won by 2-0, and has already opened up a two-point gap over second-placed Portsmouth, who only drew 0-0 at Manchester City, following their impressive 3-0 home win against Blackburn Rovers on the opening day.
For the other half of the "Big Four", Liverpool and Arsenal had played only a league match apiece during the week, owing to their European commitment. Liverpool, a perennial slow starter, traveled to Bramall Lane to take on newly-promoted Sheffield United, a tricky fixture for them. A close-range header by Rob Hulse gave the home team the lead just 40 seconds into the second half, but a brave excursion by the outstanding Steven Gerrard (who else?) gave the visiting team a controversial penalty, which Robbie Fowler coolly converted for a well-deserved equaliser. In the end, a 1-1 draw was a fair result for both teams.
Arsenal, in their first match at the new state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium, fell behind to an Olof Mellberg header early in the second half. It was a sweet revenge for the Swedish international as he not only put his name on the record books as the first ever scorer at the new Emirates Stadium, but he also headed home by outjumping the Gunners' goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who started for Germany in their two recent wins over Sweden, including knocking Sweden out of the World Cup in the Round of 16.
But Brazilian Gilberto Silva saved the day for the Gunners, as his close range strike late in the game salvaged a point for the home team. The goal was created by second-half substitute Theo Walcott, whose dazzling display of skills down the left flank may have convinced some that he really deserved a place in the England's World Cup squad this summer.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Every Dog Has His Day
With Valentino Rossi undoubtedly being the best motorcycling rider in the world, what happened in the Czech Grand Prix last weekend was a bit of a surprise.
Rossi, the five-time reigning World Champion, didn't fare badly, and came home in second place a little more than four seconds behind Italian veteran Loris Capirossi, who scored his seventh victory in the top flight in his long career. And Rossi had to overcome a fantastic duel with 20-year-old rookie Dani Pedrosa of Spain, who for a brief moment managed to squeeze past Rossi for second place, only to be overtaken at the very next corner and had to settle for third.
Meanwhile, Championship leader Nicky Hayden was not having a great day, as he could only managed a ninth-place finish, and saw his lead over Pedrosa reduced from 34 points to 25 points.
Early in the race, Hayden was battling with his teammate Pedrosa for second place, and the two nearly collided. Unfortunately, he was soon hampered by a rear tyre problem and to make matters worse, he was overtaken by American John Hopkins in the final chicane on the last lap, and then by Japanese rider Shinya Nakano just metres before the finish.
With big names like Capirossi, Rossi and Pedrosa sharing the victory champagne on the podium, what's the surprise?
The first surprise came at qualifying, when Rossi pushed to the limit to claim pole position at the final minutes. It was only his second pole position of the season.
As Rossi is blessed with an outstanding ability to overtake his rivals, many believe that no matter where he starts on the grid, he would always find a way to get back to the front. As a result, it's not uncommon to see Rossi qualify at the middle of the grid, with everyone anticipating a mad dash from the back for him.
Which leads us to the second surprise of the day: There was no mad dash for him.
Thanks to his customary slow start, Rossi yet again lost ground to other riders early in the race. When he overtook Hayden for second place, many expected that it was just a matter of time for him to close in on Capirossi. Instead, Capirossi managed to pull away from Rossi as his lap times were constantly fractions of a seconds quicker than Rossi's. The gap kept growing to over 7.5 seconds at the latter stages of the race, with Pedrosa hot on his tail. It came down to four seconds only because Capirossi was cruising in the final laps of the race.
For Capirossi, it was his second victory of the year, following his win at the season opening race at Jerez. It was also his first win since being seriously injured in the horrifying crash on the opening lap of the Catalonia Grand Prix in June, in which his teammate Sete Gibernau, Italian Marco Melandri, Frenchman Randy de Puniet, Hopkins and Pedrosa were also involved.
It's a morale booster for his Ducati team too, as Gibernau, after a two-race comeback, had to sit out this race when it was found he had not fully recovered from his injuries.
With five races still to go, the top five riders (Hayden, Pedrosa, Rossi, Melandri and Capirossi in that order) in the Championship are separated by a mere 50 points. This year's title race is still very much wide open.
Rossi, the five-time reigning World Champion, didn't fare badly, and came home in second place a little more than four seconds behind Italian veteran Loris Capirossi, who scored his seventh victory in the top flight in his long career. And Rossi had to overcome a fantastic duel with 20-year-old rookie Dani Pedrosa of Spain, who for a brief moment managed to squeeze past Rossi for second place, only to be overtaken at the very next corner and had to settle for third.
Meanwhile, Championship leader Nicky Hayden was not having a great day, as he could only managed a ninth-place finish, and saw his lead over Pedrosa reduced from 34 points to 25 points.
Early in the race, Hayden was battling with his teammate Pedrosa for second place, and the two nearly collided. Unfortunately, he was soon hampered by a rear tyre problem and to make matters worse, he was overtaken by American John Hopkins in the final chicane on the last lap, and then by Japanese rider Shinya Nakano just metres before the finish.
With big names like Capirossi, Rossi and Pedrosa sharing the victory champagne on the podium, what's the surprise?
The first surprise came at qualifying, when Rossi pushed to the limit to claim pole position at the final minutes. It was only his second pole position of the season.
As Rossi is blessed with an outstanding ability to overtake his rivals, many believe that no matter where he starts on the grid, he would always find a way to get back to the front. As a result, it's not uncommon to see Rossi qualify at the middle of the grid, with everyone anticipating a mad dash from the back for him.
Which leads us to the second surprise of the day: There was no mad dash for him.
Thanks to his customary slow start, Rossi yet again lost ground to other riders early in the race. When he overtook Hayden for second place, many expected that it was just a matter of time for him to close in on Capirossi. Instead, Capirossi managed to pull away from Rossi as his lap times were constantly fractions of a seconds quicker than Rossi's. The gap kept growing to over 7.5 seconds at the latter stages of the race, with Pedrosa hot on his tail. It came down to four seconds only because Capirossi was cruising in the final laps of the race.
For Capirossi, it was his second victory of the year, following his win at the season opening race at Jerez. It was also his first win since being seriously injured in the horrifying crash on the opening lap of the Catalonia Grand Prix in June, in which his teammate Sete Gibernau, Italian Marco Melandri, Frenchman Randy de Puniet, Hopkins and Pedrosa were also involved.
It's a morale booster for his Ducati team too, as Gibernau, after a two-race comeback, had to sit out this race when it was found he had not fully recovered from his injuries.
With five races still to go, the top five riders (Hayden, Pedrosa, Rossi, Melandri and Capirossi in that order) in the Championship are separated by a mere 50 points. This year's title race is still very much wide open.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Parting Words
Jacques Villeneuve, the Formula One World Champion in 1997, has never been a fan, or friend, of Michael Schumacher.
And the French-Canadian, who recently saw his place in the BMW team taken by the promising Polish driver Robert Kubica, and is likely to have driven his final race in Formula One, slammed Schumi in an interview with the F1 Racing magazine.
The final straw for Villeneuve was Schumi's questionable tactics during qualifying for this year's Monaco Grand Prix, where Schumi stopped his car in the middle of the track in the dying seconds of the session, ruining everyone's final chance to knock him out of the pole position. Although the officials and telemetry data on the car both confirmed that it was not an accident, and penalized Schumi by sending him to the back of the grid, Schumi never admitted that he did it deliberately. And Villeneuve was so furious that he decided to quit the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, which is headed by Schumi of all people.
"Michael simply isn't a great champion," said Villeneuve whose late father, Gilles, was known as a daredevil in Formula One in the late 70s' and early 80s' and have been compared with the great Ayrton Senna. "(And Schumi) isn't a great human being", he added.
Villeneuve also noted that while Senna had also played dirty tricks on the track, he was really open about it and even made it known that he would do so beforehand, just like his crash with Alain Prost at the very first corner in the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990. By doing so, Villeneuve regarded Senna's way of doing things has "more class" and "dignity".
In 1994, Schumi was leading the Championship going into the final race in Adelaide, Australia, and for Williams's Damon Hill to overtake him, he had to finish ahead of Schumi. Late in the race, when Hill was harassing Schumi laps after laps, Schumi finally cracked and inexplicably went wide in a corner, and Hill shot up the gaping hole on the other side of the track. Only for Schumi to swerve across the track, and the two cars collided. Schumi's car was thrown into the air and had to retire on the spot, and although Hill managed to continue, he also suffered damaged suspension which would put him out of the race. With Hill retired scoring no points, Schumi won his first World Championship title.
Villeneuve was himself nearly a victim of Schumi's gamesmanship (or ruthlessness, depending on your side). In the final race at Jerez, Spain of the 1997 season, where both drivers still had a shot to become World Champion, Villeneuve managed to overtake Schumi at the end of a straight, only for Schumi to deliberately drive into the side of Villeneuve's Williams-Renault, trying to force the latter out of the race, and thus preserving his lead in the Championship. Only this time his plan backfired, and Villeneuve escaped the scrap unscathed, and Schumi himself wound up stuck in the gravel trap, thus handing the Championship to Villeneuve on a plate. Schumi would later be stripped of his second place in the Championship as a result of this incident.
Villeneuve's biggest beefs was the supporters turning a blind eye to Schumi's tactics. "Michael takes advantage of the loyalty," he said, which has led to Schumi believing that he is bigger than the sports itself. Villeneuve also claimed that due to all the controversies, Schumi will be forgotten by the fans once he retires, which is unlike Senna who, despite his death 12 years ago, is still revered by fans all over the world.
In an era where political correctness is of utmost importance, it's rare that anyone can be so outspoken these days without worrying about the consequences. That is perhaps one of the reasons why Villeneuve has lost his seat with his team.
And it's also rare that a driver can sum up the sentiments of and speak out for so many racing fans that well.
And the French-Canadian, who recently saw his place in the BMW team taken by the promising Polish driver Robert Kubica, and is likely to have driven his final race in Formula One, slammed Schumi in an interview with the F1 Racing magazine.
The final straw for Villeneuve was Schumi's questionable tactics during qualifying for this year's Monaco Grand Prix, where Schumi stopped his car in the middle of the track in the dying seconds of the session, ruining everyone's final chance to knock him out of the pole position. Although the officials and telemetry data on the car both confirmed that it was not an accident, and penalized Schumi by sending him to the back of the grid, Schumi never admitted that he did it deliberately. And Villeneuve was so furious that he decided to quit the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, which is headed by Schumi of all people.
"Michael simply isn't a great champion," said Villeneuve whose late father, Gilles, was known as a daredevil in Formula One in the late 70s' and early 80s' and have been compared with the great Ayrton Senna. "(And Schumi) isn't a great human being", he added.
Villeneuve also noted that while Senna had also played dirty tricks on the track, he was really open about it and even made it known that he would do so beforehand, just like his crash with Alain Prost at the very first corner in the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990. By doing so, Villeneuve regarded Senna's way of doing things has "more class" and "dignity".
In 1994, Schumi was leading the Championship going into the final race in Adelaide, Australia, and for Williams's Damon Hill to overtake him, he had to finish ahead of Schumi. Late in the race, when Hill was harassing Schumi laps after laps, Schumi finally cracked and inexplicably went wide in a corner, and Hill shot up the gaping hole on the other side of the track. Only for Schumi to swerve across the track, and the two cars collided. Schumi's car was thrown into the air and had to retire on the spot, and although Hill managed to continue, he also suffered damaged suspension which would put him out of the race. With Hill retired scoring no points, Schumi won his first World Championship title.
Villeneuve was himself nearly a victim of Schumi's gamesmanship (or ruthlessness, depending on your side). In the final race at Jerez, Spain of the 1997 season, where both drivers still had a shot to become World Champion, Villeneuve managed to overtake Schumi at the end of a straight, only for Schumi to deliberately drive into the side of Villeneuve's Williams-Renault, trying to force the latter out of the race, and thus preserving his lead in the Championship. Only this time his plan backfired, and Villeneuve escaped the scrap unscathed, and Schumi himself wound up stuck in the gravel trap, thus handing the Championship to Villeneuve on a plate. Schumi would later be stripped of his second place in the Championship as a result of this incident.
Villeneuve's biggest beefs was the supporters turning a blind eye to Schumi's tactics. "Michael takes advantage of the loyalty," he said, which has led to Schumi believing that he is bigger than the sports itself. Villeneuve also claimed that due to all the controversies, Schumi will be forgotten by the fans once he retires, which is unlike Senna who, despite his death 12 years ago, is still revered by fans all over the world.
In an era where political correctness is of utmost importance, it's rare that anyone can be so outspoken these days without worrying about the consequences. That is perhaps one of the reasons why Villeneuve has lost his seat with his team.
And it's also rare that a driver can sum up the sentiments of and speak out for so many racing fans that well.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Matter of Life and Death
Things just keep getting worse and worse for Floyd Landis, the dethroned Tour de France Champion.
The latest (and saddest) twist of the saga: David Witt, his father-in-law, was found dead last Wednesday (August 16) in a car with a gunshot wound in his head. The death has been ruled by the officials as a suicide.
Landis and Witt were extremely close to each other. Witt is the step-father of Landis' wife, Amber, and it was Witt who introduced Landis to his future wife. Witt also played a huge role in converting Landis from a mountain biker to a road racer, and they were each other's best man in their own weddings.
While many suspect that Witt's death was related to the mounting pressure resulting from Landis' doping controversy, a source close to Landis claimed that Witt's death was not directly related to the scandal, and pointed to a failed business venture as the main reason behind it.
This followed the withdrawal of the sponsor of Landis' team, Phonak, a hearing-aid company based in Switzerland, citing that the controversy has had a serious impact on the company's image.
All these because of the discovery of an abnormally high testosterone ratio in Landis' body, following a routine test after his heroics in Stage 17 of the Tour, which saw him rebound from oblivion back into title contention in just one amazing day.
He was subsequently disqualified, thereby promoting Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro, who gained close to 30 minutes in Stage 13 in unexpected fashion, to the top of the podium. And his innocuous-looking breakaway in that stage has now made him a Tour de France Champion.
Landis has steadfastly denied taking illegal drugs, and has claimed other sources such as beer, alcohol and the medication for osteonecrosis in his hips as the possible reason for the failed drug test.
And more importantly, he has had the total support of his entire family throughout the controversy. But now comes the sad news relating to his father-in-law.
Doping controversy is not news at all. Athletes have been the subjects of doping scandals for decades, and refusal to co-operate with the authorities and perjury are some of the more common consequences associated with drug scandals.
But this is the very first time (or according Yours Truly's memory) that a drug scandal has resulted (directly or indirectly) in the death of a third party.
How is it going to affect Landis?
If he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs, he would be devastated in a sense that the unfair accusation and media scrutiny on him has led to the death of his father-in-law.
If he indeed has taken performance-enhancing drugs, he would even be more devastated in a sense that his win-at-all-cost attitude and lies (claiming that he was not on drugs) has led to the most tragic consequence he had ever imagined.
In one way or the other, he is utterly devastated right now.
But is he ruing the media attention for the unbearable pressure, or blaming himself for the tragic consequences at this very moment? Well, who knows.
The latest (and saddest) twist of the saga: David Witt, his father-in-law, was found dead last Wednesday (August 16) in a car with a gunshot wound in his head. The death has been ruled by the officials as a suicide.
Landis and Witt were extremely close to each other. Witt is the step-father of Landis' wife, Amber, and it was Witt who introduced Landis to his future wife. Witt also played a huge role in converting Landis from a mountain biker to a road racer, and they were each other's best man in their own weddings.
While many suspect that Witt's death was related to the mounting pressure resulting from Landis' doping controversy, a source close to Landis claimed that Witt's death was not directly related to the scandal, and pointed to a failed business venture as the main reason behind it.
This followed the withdrawal of the sponsor of Landis' team, Phonak, a hearing-aid company based in Switzerland, citing that the controversy has had a serious impact on the company's image.
All these because of the discovery of an abnormally high testosterone ratio in Landis' body, following a routine test after his heroics in Stage 17 of the Tour, which saw him rebound from oblivion back into title contention in just one amazing day.
He was subsequently disqualified, thereby promoting Spanish rider Oscar Pereiro, who gained close to 30 minutes in Stage 13 in unexpected fashion, to the top of the podium. And his innocuous-looking breakaway in that stage has now made him a Tour de France Champion.
Landis has steadfastly denied taking illegal drugs, and has claimed other sources such as beer, alcohol and the medication for osteonecrosis in his hips as the possible reason for the failed drug test.
And more importantly, he has had the total support of his entire family throughout the controversy. But now comes the sad news relating to his father-in-law.
Doping controversy is not news at all. Athletes have been the subjects of doping scandals for decades, and refusal to co-operate with the authorities and perjury are some of the more common consequences associated with drug scandals.
But this is the very first time (or according Yours Truly's memory) that a drug scandal has resulted (directly or indirectly) in the death of a third party.
How is it going to affect Landis?
If he has never taken performance-enhancing drugs, he would be devastated in a sense that the unfair accusation and media scrutiny on him has led to the death of his father-in-law.
If he indeed has taken performance-enhancing drugs, he would even be more devastated in a sense that his win-at-all-cost attitude and lies (claiming that he was not on drugs) has led to the most tragic consequence he had ever imagined.
In one way or the other, he is utterly devastated right now.
But is he ruing the media attention for the unbearable pressure, or blaming himself for the tragic consequences at this very moment? Well, who knows.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Not the End of the Road
In a recent interview with a local newspaper, Juan Pablo Montoya, the Colombian who has announced his decision to quit Formula One to join the NASCAR circuit next year, finally explained the reason for his decision which Yours Truly cannot agree more.
In essence, JPM said that he quits because Formula One is boring.
JPM has won some of the major titles in auto-racing, including the Formula 3000 title in 1998 and the CART (now Champ Car) title in 1999 (including a win at the Indianapolis 500 in 2000), and scored victories in some of the most prestigious circuits in Formula One, such as Monza in 2001 and 2005, Monaco in 2003 and Silverstone in 2005. It seems that the only major title missing is the Formula One World Championship title.
It isn't that he never came close. In 2003 he still had an outside chance to win the title while with Williams with only two races to go. But a costly and controversial stop-and-go penalty at the United States Grand Prix dropped him to sixth and out of the title race. Eventually he finished third, just 11 points behind Michael Schumacher in the all-conquering Ferrari.
Apart from the occasional races with lots of action (such as the Hungarian Grand Prix two weeks ago), Formula One has been regarded as a race of procession. Cars rarely overtake each other and most of the overtaking take place when drivers are in the pits. Worse though, the dominance of Ferrari and Schumacher makes a lot of racing fans wonder, "Oh no, not again," when they see the two red cars miles ahead of the rest of the field.
It was just no contest at all. And JPM admitted said that it's no fun for him and his teammate to fight for only fifth or sixth place every race.
In the days where political correctness is more important than anything else, the departure of the frank and articulate JPM is a big loss for the Formula One fans. He's always to the point, and is often a great source of quotes.
And Formula One is indeed boring, and NASCAR is simply fascinating.
In the 36 NASCAR races held in 2005 (not including a handful of non-point scoring races), 15 drivers have gone on to the winner's circle. Meanwhile, only five drivers have stepped on the top step of the podium in 19 Formula One races that year.
And who can forget that in 2002, Schumi managed to win 11 out of the 17 races that year, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello added four more? And in 2004, Schumi won a staggering 13 races out of 18, and Barrichello picked up two more?
In NASCAR, if you manage to get your car on the starting grid, you stand a very big chance to be competitive, and a reasonable chance to win a race.
But in Formula One, if you (are lucky enough to) manage to get your car on the starting grid, you stand a very big chance to be fighting for the lesser places, and a reasonable chance to be lapped a couple of times by the few front runners.
No wonder many NASCAR drivers such as Mark Martin, are still running strong in their 50s'. And that means JPM will have as many as 20 years competing in the NASCAR circuit. A really shrewd career move for him indeed.
Friday, August 18, 2006
There is No Place Like Home
We all have this kind of experience.
We would feel at home in certain places, but somehow some other places simply give us an uncomfortable feeling.
In sporting scenes, there are many instances where the athletes display such kind of territorial dominance in certain venues.
Take Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART, now renamed as the Champ Car World Series) as an example. In the 80s' and 90s', CART was the major open-wheel racing series in North America. Due to its popularity, the series was expanded to Australia, Japan, Brazil and Mexico, but the majority (over 80%) of the races was still held in the USA and Canada.
For some reason, Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez often found his very best form in races held outside the USA. Of his eight career CART victories, five of them came outside the States (in Toronto; Motegi, Japan (Twice); Rio de Janeiro; and Surfers Paradise, Australia) and only three in the States, a lopsided difference favouring the non-US races when you consider the respective winning percentage.
For fellow CART driver Bryan Herta, his favourite circuit must have been Laguna Seca in California. Among his seven career pole positions, three of them came in Laguna Seca. And in case you are wondering whether it really is his favourite circuit, then consider this: Both of his two CART victories came on this circuit. But for "The Pass" by Alex Zanardi on the very last lap in 1996, Herta could have added a third victory (or scored his first ever victory in fact) on this very same circuit.
And Herta's affection of Laguna Seca is shared by American MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden, who scored two of his three victories (so far) at the Californian track. In fact, his victory total would have remained at two had fellow American rider Colin Edwards not made a costly mistake at the very last corner in Assen earlier this year, thereby handing the victory on a plate to Hayden and ruining his "perfect" record.
In Formula One, Keke Rosberg, the World Champion in 1982, scored a total of five victories in his career. Among his victories, four of them came from street circuits (Monaco, Dallas, Detroit and Adelaide). The other victory (his very first victory in fact) came in Dijon, although being a high-speed circuit, is fact short and narrow, which are the major characteristics of a street circuit.
The late Italian Michele Alboreto also scored five career victories from 1982 to 1985. But unlike Fernandez in CART, Alboreto did extremely well in North America by notching up three victories in the USA and Canada. One wonders whether they should have swapped seats in the first place.
Similarly, fellow Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella won three races in his career (so far). However, none of them were in Europe. He won in Brazil in 2003, Australia in 2005 and Malaysia this year. Given the majority of race being held in Europe, no wonder he has never been a serious title contender despite his many years in Formula One.
(However, if you consider the fact that his victory in Brazil was not confirmed until five days after the race, and a victory ceremony was made up for him at Imola, Italy before the very next race, one may argue that Fisichella did have lifted the winning trophy in Europe.)
And this is not a recent phenomenon. In 1955 and 1958, veteran French driver Maurice Trintignant scored his only two career victories in Formula One. Both of them came in none other than Monaco, the drivers' biggest challenge due to its twisty and narrow nature.
We would feel at home in certain places, but somehow some other places simply give us an uncomfortable feeling.
In sporting scenes, there are many instances where the athletes display such kind of territorial dominance in certain venues.
Take Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART, now renamed as the Champ Car World Series) as an example. In the 80s' and 90s', CART was the major open-wheel racing series in North America. Due to its popularity, the series was expanded to Australia, Japan, Brazil and Mexico, but the majority (over 80%) of the races was still held in the USA and Canada.
For some reason, Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez often found his very best form in races held outside the USA. Of his eight career CART victories, five of them came outside the States (in Toronto; Motegi, Japan (Twice); Rio de Janeiro; and Surfers Paradise, Australia) and only three in the States, a lopsided difference favouring the non-US races when you consider the respective winning percentage.
For fellow CART driver Bryan Herta, his favourite circuit must have been Laguna Seca in California. Among his seven career pole positions, three of them came in Laguna Seca. And in case you are wondering whether it really is his favourite circuit, then consider this: Both of his two CART victories came on this circuit. But for "The Pass" by Alex Zanardi on the very last lap in 1996, Herta could have added a third victory (or scored his first ever victory in fact) on this very same circuit.
And Herta's affection of Laguna Seca is shared by American MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden, who scored two of his three victories (so far) at the Californian track. In fact, his victory total would have remained at two had fellow American rider Colin Edwards not made a costly mistake at the very last corner in Assen earlier this year, thereby handing the victory on a plate to Hayden and ruining his "perfect" record.
In Formula One, Keke Rosberg, the World Champion in 1982, scored a total of five victories in his career. Among his victories, four of them came from street circuits (Monaco, Dallas, Detroit and Adelaide). The other victory (his very first victory in fact) came in Dijon, although being a high-speed circuit, is fact short and narrow, which are the major characteristics of a street circuit.
The late Italian Michele Alboreto also scored five career victories from 1982 to 1985. But unlike Fernandez in CART, Alboreto did extremely well in North America by notching up three victories in the USA and Canada. One wonders whether they should have swapped seats in the first place.
Similarly, fellow Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella won three races in his career (so far). However, none of them were in Europe. He won in Brazil in 2003, Australia in 2005 and Malaysia this year. Given the majority of race being held in Europe, no wonder he has never been a serious title contender despite his many years in Formula One.
(However, if you consider the fact that his victory in Brazil was not confirmed until five days after the race, and a victory ceremony was made up for him at Imola, Italy before the very next race, one may argue that Fisichella did have lifted the winning trophy in Europe.)
And this is not a recent phenomenon. In 1955 and 1958, veteran French driver Maurice Trintignant scored his only two career victories in Formula One. Both of them came in none other than Monaco, the drivers' biggest challenge due to its twisty and narrow nature.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Deer Oh Deer
A couple of weeks ago during a two-day Champ Car testing session at Road America in Elkhart Lake, former champion and ex-Formula One driver Cristiano da Matta had a serious accident at Turn Six.
No, he didn't hit against the retaining wall hard or flip over his car, and he didn't collide with another car either. And no, his car was not on fire and he didn't suffer any burns at all.
He was nearly killed because his car struck an adult deer which has somehow wandered onto the middle of the track, which hit the right front of the car, then struck da Matta in the helmet and knocked him out cold. The car eventually did plunge into a tyre wall at a high speed, with da Matta's foot still fully on the throttle. The result was subdural hematoma for da Matta, a traumatic form of brain injury.
Luckily for da Matta, he is now recovering from his injury after surgery, and his condition is slowly but steadily improving. He is now currently in a sedated coma and doctors have high hopes about a full recovery.
This is not the first time a deer is involved in a high speed crash. In 1987, Formula One driver Stefan Johansson of Sweden struck an equally mindless deer during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at the then Osterreichring (now A1-Ring). He struck it head-on, and the impact was so severe that it simply totaled the sleek McLaren-TAG, which burst into flames, hit the barriers and skid along the track for some distance, before coming to a halt. Miraculously, Johansson escaped unscathed and was able to compete in the race the following day (in the spare car of course).
Two major accidents, and two dead deer.
While we are praying for da Matta's full recovery and thanking the Goodness for his care and protection shown on Johansson, one must ponder a very obvious question.
Why deer? And why deer only?
Why didn't other animals wander onto the track and got hit? Had da Matta hit a stray dog or cat, we might not be praying for his speedy recovery. Instead, we would be mourning for the loss of someone's best companion. And had Johansson hit an elephant on the track instead, he definitely would not have survived the impact.
And it is deer which keeps being knocked down by fast cars. Why?
Many believe that although some eight-foot high fences and barriers have been built around the entire track, they would not be a problem for the deer to jump over, given their amazing jumping ability. Such fences and barriers may prevent other animals from getting onto the track, but not the jumpy deer.
But given the instinct of animals to avoid accidents and natural disasters, shouldn't the deer be aware of the fast approaching cars?
Yours Truly, therefore, suggests a couple of possible reasons:
1. Deer are diehard racing fans, who follow closely (literally) to the action and do not mind dying the hard way;
2. Deer are radical thrill seekers and love the near-death experience. That's why they try to wait until the very last moment to get out of a car's way; or
3. Deer are environmentalists, who are willing to sacrifice some of their most extreme members to protest against the staging of noisy, polluting, boring and meaningless car races.
Oh deer.
No, he didn't hit against the retaining wall hard or flip over his car, and he didn't collide with another car either. And no, his car was not on fire and he didn't suffer any burns at all.
He was nearly killed because his car struck an adult deer which has somehow wandered onto the middle of the track, which hit the right front of the car, then struck da Matta in the helmet and knocked him out cold. The car eventually did plunge into a tyre wall at a high speed, with da Matta's foot still fully on the throttle. The result was subdural hematoma for da Matta, a traumatic form of brain injury.
Luckily for da Matta, he is now recovering from his injury after surgery, and his condition is slowly but steadily improving. He is now currently in a sedated coma and doctors have high hopes about a full recovery.
This is not the first time a deer is involved in a high speed crash. In 1987, Formula One driver Stefan Johansson of Sweden struck an equally mindless deer during practice for the Austrian Grand Prix at the then Osterreichring (now A1-Ring). He struck it head-on, and the impact was so severe that it simply totaled the sleek McLaren-TAG, which burst into flames, hit the barriers and skid along the track for some distance, before coming to a halt. Miraculously, Johansson escaped unscathed and was able to compete in the race the following day (in the spare car of course).
Two major accidents, and two dead deer.
While we are praying for da Matta's full recovery and thanking the Goodness for his care and protection shown on Johansson, one must ponder a very obvious question.
Why deer? And why deer only?
Why didn't other animals wander onto the track and got hit? Had da Matta hit a stray dog or cat, we might not be praying for his speedy recovery. Instead, we would be mourning for the loss of someone's best companion. And had Johansson hit an elephant on the track instead, he definitely would not have survived the impact.
And it is deer which keeps being knocked down by fast cars. Why?
Many believe that although some eight-foot high fences and barriers have been built around the entire track, they would not be a problem for the deer to jump over, given their amazing jumping ability. Such fences and barriers may prevent other animals from getting onto the track, but not the jumpy deer.
But given the instinct of animals to avoid accidents and natural disasters, shouldn't the deer be aware of the fast approaching cars?
Yours Truly, therefore, suggests a couple of possible reasons:
1. Deer are diehard racing fans, who follow closely (literally) to the action and do not mind dying the hard way;
2. Deer are radical thrill seekers and love the near-death experience. That's why they try to wait until the very last moment to get out of a car's way; or
3. Deer are environmentalists, who are willing to sacrifice some of their most extreme members to protest against the staging of noisy, polluting, boring and meaningless car races.
Oh deer.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Eriksson the Prankster
Contrary to public opinion, former England's coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is a funny guy. His biggest joke came in the form of two players selected after his takeover of the team in 2001.
David James and Theo Walcott.
When James was a promising young goalkeeper with Watford in the early 90s', his good performance caught the eyes of Liverpool, who was looking for a replacement for the crowd favourite Bruce Grobbelaar. Yet then Liverpool manager Graeme Souness soon found out that his new stopper was not as good as he was hoping for, as his Anfield career got off to a less than auspicious start.
Although rescued from the doghouse by the new manager Roy Evans, James' performance remained sub-par. His inconsistencies and costly errors have led to much consternation among the Anfield faithful. After a whopping 200-plus matches with the club (Question: How did he last that long?), Liverpool finally gave up on him, and he went to Aston Villa in 1999.
Yet he was in his same old poor form with Villa, and he then moved on to West Ham United in 2001. But in 2002, to everyone's surprise (and horror), Eriksson decided to promote James as the number one goalkeeper for England, replacing the aging David Seaman.
But why?
England definitely had some, if not many, better alternatives at the time. Though a little overweight, and not being as svelte and "elegant" as James, Nigel Martyn was a more than capable candidate for the job. But somehow Eriksson decided to keep Martyn on the bench and allow James to scare the England fans every time the ball came close to the goal-mouth.
And as James was moonlighting as a model for Italian fashion magnate Giorgio Armani at the time, many wonder whether Eriksson chose him purely for aesthetic reasons.
At the same time, James failed to save the Hammers from relegation, thereby earning him the distinction of being one of the very few first-choice goalkeepers for his country not playing top-flight soccer.
Although his performance during the European Championship in 2004 was adequate, his butter fingers remained a major concern for the fans and after a major gaffe against Austria in 2004, he was finally replaced by the reliable Paul Robinson of Tottenham Hotspur, much to the reprieve of the England fans.
Meanwhile ...
When Eriksson named the virtually untested teenager Walcott into his 2006 World Cup squad, many fans found it literally unbelievable.
How on earth could a coach select a player who has never played top flight soccer for the World Cup?
In his (weak) defence, Eriksson claimed that Walcott might be a secret weapon for the team, a la Brazil's Pele in 1958. And while Germany's coach Jurgen Klinsmann also surprised a lot of critics by selecting untested winger David Odonkor for his squad, at least Klinsmann did play him, and it was his cross which led to the only goal against Poland in the group stages. Walcott though, was probably sleeping on the bench as Eriksson never put him on the pitch, despite the shortage of strikers after the injury to Michael Owen.
And Eriksson refused to put him on the pitch even after Wayne Rooney was sent off against Portugal, leaving his team with only one out-and-out and tiring striker in Peter Crouch.
And by comparing Walcott with Pele, well, let's just say that Eriksson once again showed his light and funny side, and that only he can tell (and practise) a joke like of such comic proportions.
David James and Theo Walcott.
When James was a promising young goalkeeper with Watford in the early 90s', his good performance caught the eyes of Liverpool, who was looking for a replacement for the crowd favourite Bruce Grobbelaar. Yet then Liverpool manager Graeme Souness soon found out that his new stopper was not as good as he was hoping for, as his Anfield career got off to a less than auspicious start.
Although rescued from the doghouse by the new manager Roy Evans, James' performance remained sub-par. His inconsistencies and costly errors have led to much consternation among the Anfield faithful. After a whopping 200-plus matches with the club (Question: How did he last that long?), Liverpool finally gave up on him, and he went to Aston Villa in 1999.
Yet he was in his same old poor form with Villa, and he then moved on to West Ham United in 2001. But in 2002, to everyone's surprise (and horror), Eriksson decided to promote James as the number one goalkeeper for England, replacing the aging David Seaman.
But why?
England definitely had some, if not many, better alternatives at the time. Though a little overweight, and not being as svelte and "elegant" as James, Nigel Martyn was a more than capable candidate for the job. But somehow Eriksson decided to keep Martyn on the bench and allow James to scare the England fans every time the ball came close to the goal-mouth.
And as James was moonlighting as a model for Italian fashion magnate Giorgio Armani at the time, many wonder whether Eriksson chose him purely for aesthetic reasons.
At the same time, James failed to save the Hammers from relegation, thereby earning him the distinction of being one of the very few first-choice goalkeepers for his country not playing top-flight soccer.
Although his performance during the European Championship in 2004 was adequate, his butter fingers remained a major concern for the fans and after a major gaffe against Austria in 2004, he was finally replaced by the reliable Paul Robinson of Tottenham Hotspur, much to the reprieve of the England fans.
Meanwhile ...
When Eriksson named the virtually untested teenager Walcott into his 2006 World Cup squad, many fans found it literally unbelievable.
How on earth could a coach select a player who has never played top flight soccer for the World Cup?
In his (weak) defence, Eriksson claimed that Walcott might be a secret weapon for the team, a la Brazil's Pele in 1958. And while Germany's coach Jurgen Klinsmann also surprised a lot of critics by selecting untested winger David Odonkor for his squad, at least Klinsmann did play him, and it was his cross which led to the only goal against Poland in the group stages. Walcott though, was probably sleeping on the bench as Eriksson never put him on the pitch, despite the shortage of strikers after the injury to Michael Owen.
And Eriksson refused to put him on the pitch even after Wayne Rooney was sent off against Portugal, leaving his team with only one out-and-out and tiring striker in Peter Crouch.
And by comparing Walcott with Pele, well, let's just say that Eriksson once again showed his light and funny side, and that only he can tell (and practise) a joke like of such comic proportions.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Champ Car Wrestling
If you have just started following the Champ Car World Series recently, you would have thought that it's yet another bizarre sports like chess-boxing, where the competitors take part in two totally different sports at the same time.
The last two races in San Jose and Denver were both highlighted by fisticuffs among drivers, and each time Canadian veteran Paul Tracy was in the middle of it.
And you would have thought that Tracy is the reigning champion of Champ Car Wrestling (at least for the "wrestling" part).
Two weeks ago in San Jose, Tracy locked up his brakes going into a chicane and went into the escape road, only for him to decide to go straight back out onto the track, without noticing the fast-approaching Canadian driver Alex Tagliani. Somehow Tracy inexplicably swerved across the track ("I was in panic mode and tried to give him room," claimed Tracy afterwards) and inevitably slammed Tagliani's car into the wall.
The fuming Tagliani managed to drive his damaged car back to the pit, and when he saw Tracy walking back to the pitlane, he confronted Tracy and after some verbal exchanges, a fight broke out and the tussling drivers fell into the ground in front of the TV cameras. Interestingly, Tracy punched Tagliani in the head with the helmet still on, strong evidence that he was indeed in panic (and clueless) mode.
Eventually, Tracy had points deducted, was fined and also put on probation for the next three races for his part in the incident. Meanwhile, Tagliani was also fined for the skirmish in the pitlane.
And in the very next race in Denver, Tracy was fighting with two-time defending champion Sebastien Bourdais of France for the second place. In the very last corner of the final lap, Bourdais, who was on the outside, pushed the "Pass Button" and was clearly ahead. Yet Tracy was not going to make life any easier for the Frenchman and tried to outbrake him, only for him to lock up his brakes and slid sideways into Bourdais' car, damaging both cars and making them unable to reach the finish line which was literally in sight. Within a matter of seconds, they were relegated from second and third to sixth and seventh respectively, costing Bourdais 12 points in the Championship standings.
Bourdais, whose main rival in the Championship is Tracy's teammate A.J. Allmendinger, was understandably angry. He ran across the track where the cars were still running at a high speed, and confronted Tracy, questioning his move and motive. When Tracy didn't give him a satisfactory answer, Bourdais gave him a good shove and turned away, having decided that he's already had a bad enough day. Meanwhile Tracy didn't back down, and gestured to Bourdais as if telling him to come back, take off the helmet and have a real fight.
What was Tracy thinking?
The most experienced driver in the series by far with over 200 starts and the Champion in 2003, Tracy has been involved in a number of controversies recently and most of his clashes involved Bourdais, the best driver in the series and his arch nemesis. In fact, Tracy claimed that Bourdais had knocked him out of five races last season and even said that "paybacks are a bitch".
With him still on probation due to the incident in San Jose, Tracy is likely to subject to further sanctions, including a well-deserved suspension. Yet with his Forsythe team having recently signed him to a new five-year deal which would keep him in the series until 2011 when he will turn 43, his fellow drivers will have no choice but to keep their fingers crossed.
But that would be great entertainment for racing fans like Yours Truly.
The last two races in San Jose and Denver were both highlighted by fisticuffs among drivers, and each time Canadian veteran Paul Tracy was in the middle of it.
And you would have thought that Tracy is the reigning champion of Champ Car Wrestling (at least for the "wrestling" part).
Two weeks ago in San Jose, Tracy locked up his brakes going into a chicane and went into the escape road, only for him to decide to go straight back out onto the track, without noticing the fast-approaching Canadian driver Alex Tagliani. Somehow Tracy inexplicably swerved across the track ("I was in panic mode and tried to give him room," claimed Tracy afterwards) and inevitably slammed Tagliani's car into the wall.
The fuming Tagliani managed to drive his damaged car back to the pit, and when he saw Tracy walking back to the pitlane, he confronted Tracy and after some verbal exchanges, a fight broke out and the tussling drivers fell into the ground in front of the TV cameras. Interestingly, Tracy punched Tagliani in the head with the helmet still on, strong evidence that he was indeed in panic (and clueless) mode.
Eventually, Tracy had points deducted, was fined and also put on probation for the next three races for his part in the incident. Meanwhile, Tagliani was also fined for the skirmish in the pitlane.
And in the very next race in Denver, Tracy was fighting with two-time defending champion Sebastien Bourdais of France for the second place. In the very last corner of the final lap, Bourdais, who was on the outside, pushed the "Pass Button" and was clearly ahead. Yet Tracy was not going to make life any easier for the Frenchman and tried to outbrake him, only for him to lock up his brakes and slid sideways into Bourdais' car, damaging both cars and making them unable to reach the finish line which was literally in sight. Within a matter of seconds, they were relegated from second and third to sixth and seventh respectively, costing Bourdais 12 points in the Championship standings.
Bourdais, whose main rival in the Championship is Tracy's teammate A.J. Allmendinger, was understandably angry. He ran across the track where the cars were still running at a high speed, and confronted Tracy, questioning his move and motive. When Tracy didn't give him a satisfactory answer, Bourdais gave him a good shove and turned away, having decided that he's already had a bad enough day. Meanwhile Tracy didn't back down, and gestured to Bourdais as if telling him to come back, take off the helmet and have a real fight.
What was Tracy thinking?
The most experienced driver in the series by far with over 200 starts and the Champion in 2003, Tracy has been involved in a number of controversies recently and most of his clashes involved Bourdais, the best driver in the series and his arch nemesis. In fact, Tracy claimed that Bourdais had knocked him out of five races last season and even said that "paybacks are a bitch".
With him still on probation due to the incident in San Jose, Tracy is likely to subject to further sanctions, including a well-deserved suspension. Yet with his Forsythe team having recently signed him to a new five-year deal which would keep him in the series until 2011 when he will turn 43, his fellow drivers will have no choice but to keep their fingers crossed.
But that would be great entertainment for racing fans like Yours Truly.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Naming a Captain
Following the withdrawal of captaincy of David Beckham, England was in search of a new captain and in the end, Chelsea central defender John Terry got the nod.
The choice is not a surprise at all. Terry is the captain of the mighty Chelsea and has been one of the most consistent, reliable and dominating defenders in Europe. His good leadership, strong sense of positioning and timely tackles have often rescued his team in dangerous situation.
(Nevertheless, it was his failure to close down Peter Crouch in the FA Community Shield which allowed the gangly striker to head home from close range, giving Liverpool a 2-1 victory.)
In a way, the captain personifies his team. Every manager wants to find the player who shares the same quality with his team, the players who can lead his teammates to glory, and the player who can boost his teammates' morale in defeat. In Terry, England manager Steve McClaren finds consistency, reliability, toughness and determination, qualities which he thinks his England team should possess.
Terry's major competitor for captaincy was Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, a wonderfully gifted player who is known for his momentary madness on the pitch. Remember his two clumsy challenges within seconds which got him sent off in the derby match against Everton last season, the match in which he and Everton striker James Beattie both wore the "08" jersey, which promotes the city of Liverpool being, ironically, the European Capital of Culture in 2008?
Many wonder that given the nastiness of the two tackles, Gerrard should net a job promoting "capital punishment" instead.
From a traditionalist's point of view, the choice of Terry was a no-brainer. But for a non-sensical guy like Yours Truly, Terry isn't the best choice.
Yours Truly prefers someone who is extremely talented, exciting, entertaining as well as hot-headed. Someone who can thrill and pump up all the players on the pitch, and all the spectators in the stands.
Try Wayne Rooney.
Despite the abundance of talent, many fans believe that England is not an exciting team at all, playing a dull, conservative and outdated brand of soccer which relies too much on long balls.
Rooney is one of the best home-grown strikers in decades, but is also known for his temperament which got him sent off against Portugal in the World Cup Quarter-Final. With Rooney on the field, England easily plays at a higher pace, and his remarkable close control draws attention from extra defenders, thus creating space for his teammates. Yet when he is off the field, England has no choice but to revert to its old form with lots of long balls booted aimlessly from its own half.
In other words, he is the real soul of the England team.
Yes, he's prone to temperamental outburst, which is normally not a trait for captains. But should we be handicapped by the so-called "conventional wisdom"?
Throughout the history of baseball, countless managers have deliberately got into heated arguments with the umpires and got themselves tossed from the game, hoping to spark their teams' performance. And in a number of occasions, they succeed.
In June, a minor league manager in the US named Joe Mikulik threw a major tantrum on the field, which not only got him ejected, but also national fame.
And given Rooney's importance to the team, the risk (or the benefit you may say) of being sent off is duly justified.
Now if only Rooney can persuade McClaren to take the armband back from Terry, without trampling his groin area ...
The choice is not a surprise at all. Terry is the captain of the mighty Chelsea and has been one of the most consistent, reliable and dominating defenders in Europe. His good leadership, strong sense of positioning and timely tackles have often rescued his team in dangerous situation.
(Nevertheless, it was his failure to close down Peter Crouch in the FA Community Shield which allowed the gangly striker to head home from close range, giving Liverpool a 2-1 victory.)
In a way, the captain personifies his team. Every manager wants to find the player who shares the same quality with his team, the players who can lead his teammates to glory, and the player who can boost his teammates' morale in defeat. In Terry, England manager Steve McClaren finds consistency, reliability, toughness and determination, qualities which he thinks his England team should possess.
Terry's major competitor for captaincy was Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, a wonderfully gifted player who is known for his momentary madness on the pitch. Remember his two clumsy challenges within seconds which got him sent off in the derby match against Everton last season, the match in which he and Everton striker James Beattie both wore the "08" jersey, which promotes the city of Liverpool being, ironically, the European Capital of Culture in 2008?
Many wonder that given the nastiness of the two tackles, Gerrard should net a job promoting "capital punishment" instead.
From a traditionalist's point of view, the choice of Terry was a no-brainer. But for a non-sensical guy like Yours Truly, Terry isn't the best choice.
Yours Truly prefers someone who is extremely talented, exciting, entertaining as well as hot-headed. Someone who can thrill and pump up all the players on the pitch, and all the spectators in the stands.
Try Wayne Rooney.
Despite the abundance of talent, many fans believe that England is not an exciting team at all, playing a dull, conservative and outdated brand of soccer which relies too much on long balls.
Rooney is one of the best home-grown strikers in decades, but is also known for his temperament which got him sent off against Portugal in the World Cup Quarter-Final. With Rooney on the field, England easily plays at a higher pace, and his remarkable close control draws attention from extra defenders, thus creating space for his teammates. Yet when he is off the field, England has no choice but to revert to its old form with lots of long balls booted aimlessly from its own half.
In other words, he is the real soul of the England team.
Yes, he's prone to temperamental outburst, which is normally not a trait for captains. But should we be handicapped by the so-called "conventional wisdom"?
Throughout the history of baseball, countless managers have deliberately got into heated arguments with the umpires and got themselves tossed from the game, hoping to spark their teams' performance. And in a number of occasions, they succeed.
In June, a minor league manager in the US named Joe Mikulik threw a major tantrum on the field, which not only got him ejected, but also national fame.
And given Rooney's importance to the team, the risk (or the benefit you may say) of being sent off is duly justified.
Now if only Rooney can persuade McClaren to take the armband back from Terry, without trampling his groin area ...
Friday, August 11, 2006
Romance in Soccer
In June 2005, a huge controversy was created when Arsenal defender Ashley Cole met with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and other top Chelsea officials in a London hotel room for a possible move to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea was accused of "tapping up" without the Gunners' knowledge, and subsequently Cole, Mourinho and the Chelsea Football Club were all fined due to such illegal poaching.
(Now, meeting someone secretly in a hotel room is something you won't normally associate with soccer transfers ...)
A month later, Cole signed a one-year extension with Arsenal, and Chelsea found its left-back in Spain's Asier del Horno. However, the saga remains very much alive. Shortly after the publishing of Cole's autobiography in which he mercilessly blasted Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger last month, and Chelsea's sale of Del Horno to Spanish side Valencia, the Blues finally opened official talks with Arsenal over transfer of Cole. However, the Gunners was asking for around 25 million pounds, a price so much beyond Chelsea's spending limit that Mourinho vowed that they were not going to pay "a single pound more".
Chelsea's interest in Cole, one of the better left-backs in the game, isn't surprising. What is surprising is their persistence in getting his signature on the contract. It's like Romeo Montague courting Juliet Capulet at all cost, despite all sorts of pressure, opposition and difficulties.
It's oh so romantic.
Meanwhile, in Old Trafford ...
Late last month, Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy finally parted company with Manchester United, after five hugely successful years with the team from 2001 to 2006, during which he scored a staggering 150 goals for the Red Devils.
But van Nistelrooy could have joined ManU a year earlier in 2000, had he not suffered a serious knee injury which cost him a full season.
Back then, ManU boss Sir Alex Ferguson was so hopelessly in love with van Nistelrooy that he won't give up on him and was willing to wait for him to recover. And when van Nistelrooy finally did, Sir Alex welcomed him with open arms.
It's like a young girl promises to her lover that she will wait for him and love him forever, despite the fact that he has just been sentenced to a year in jail.
It's oh so romantic.
Meanwhile, in Anfield ...
Liverpool have long been interested in Dutch international Dirk Kuyt of Feyenoord, hoping his arrival could strengthen their attack from both sides of the pitch. Yet after a number of bids had been turned down by the Dutch side, they decided not to waste any more time and immediately turned their attention to Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant, two equally skillful wingers.
In fact, the combined price paid for these two players (12.7 million pounds) is only a fraction more than Feyenoord's asking price for Kuyt (12 million pounds) alone.
It's oh so realistic.
(Now, meeting someone secretly in a hotel room is something you won't normally associate with soccer transfers ...)
A month later, Cole signed a one-year extension with Arsenal, and Chelsea found its left-back in Spain's Asier del Horno. However, the saga remains very much alive. Shortly after the publishing of Cole's autobiography in which he mercilessly blasted Gunners' manager Arsene Wenger last month, and Chelsea's sale of Del Horno to Spanish side Valencia, the Blues finally opened official talks with Arsenal over transfer of Cole. However, the Gunners was asking for around 25 million pounds, a price so much beyond Chelsea's spending limit that Mourinho vowed that they were not going to pay "a single pound more".
Chelsea's interest in Cole, one of the better left-backs in the game, isn't surprising. What is surprising is their persistence in getting his signature on the contract. It's like Romeo Montague courting Juliet Capulet at all cost, despite all sorts of pressure, opposition and difficulties.
It's oh so romantic.
Meanwhile, in Old Trafford ...
Late last month, Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy finally parted company with Manchester United, after five hugely successful years with the team from 2001 to 2006, during which he scored a staggering 150 goals for the Red Devils.
But van Nistelrooy could have joined ManU a year earlier in 2000, had he not suffered a serious knee injury which cost him a full season.
Back then, ManU boss Sir Alex Ferguson was so hopelessly in love with van Nistelrooy that he won't give up on him and was willing to wait for him to recover. And when van Nistelrooy finally did, Sir Alex welcomed him with open arms.
It's like a young girl promises to her lover that she will wait for him and love him forever, despite the fact that he has just been sentenced to a year in jail.
It's oh so romantic.
Meanwhile, in Anfield ...
Liverpool have long been interested in Dutch international Dirk Kuyt of Feyenoord, hoping his arrival could strengthen their attack from both sides of the pitch. Yet after a number of bids had been turned down by the Dutch side, they decided not to waste any more time and immediately turned their attention to Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant, two equally skillful wingers.
In fact, the combined price paid for these two players (12.7 million pounds) is only a fraction more than Feyenoord's asking price for Kuyt (12 million pounds) alone.
It's oh so realistic.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Rumbling in the Rain
Again on the topic of Formula One ...
Many people say that only the great drivers excel in the rain. Racing fans can never forget Jackie Stewart's dominating win in the 1968 German Grand Prix, held in torrential rain at the notoriously dangerous Nurburgring circuit, in which he beat his closest rival by over four MINUTES. Stewart's credentials? A three-time Formula One World Champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973, and the record holder for the most Formula One victories (27) when he retired in 1973.
In the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most talked-about races ever, young guns Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof were both catching leader Alain Prost at an amazing pace in torrential rain, despite at the wheels of markedly under-funded and inferior cars. Had the race not been controversially stopped after only 31 of the scheduled 77 laps, both Senna and Bellof would have certainly overtaken Prost for the lead. Despite the setback, Senna would go on to win 41 races and three World Championship titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991. As for Bellof, although he would go on to win the World Sportscar Championship title in 1984 (at a time when Formula One drivers also competed in other racing series at the same time), he would sadly crash to his death at Spa-Francorchamps in 1985, at the age of 28. Nevertheless, Bellof's legacy continues today. In addition to his fearlessness, Bellof is also best remembered as the childhood racing idol for Michael Schumacher, of all people.
During the rainy and chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix, another newcomer outperformed many veterans on the field, making him a star for the future.
Robert Kubica is the first ever Formula One driver from Poland. He previously was the test driver for the BMW team, limited to testing duties during practice on Fridays and Saturdays. However, his quickness has been proved by the stunning lap times set during practices on a regular basis, which landed him the opportunity to race in the Hungarian Grand Prix, subbing for the injured Jacques Villeneuve.
And he didn't disappoint.
Despite taking part in a race proper for the very first time, he managed to out-qualify his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld in dry condition. And when the heavens opened on race day, he kept on his good form by climbing up to eighth on the opening lap.
A spin in the chicane on lap two (a rookie mistake no less) dropped him down to 16th, and another spin damaged his front wing which dropped him further back. But he remained competitive throughout and eventually finished seventh, scoring two points on his debut. Unfortunately, he would later be disqualified for having an underweight car by a mere two kilograms, a result of the excessive wear in his tyres due to the changing weather conditions.
The BMW team surely knows a gem has been discovered and promptly parted company with Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, after the race. The move means that Kubica will race for the team for the rest of the season, and it looks highly likely that he will continue to partner Heidfeld next season.
Whether Kubica will follow the footsteps of Stewart, Senna or Bellof, Goodness only knows.
Many people say that only the great drivers excel in the rain. Racing fans can never forget Jackie Stewart's dominating win in the 1968 German Grand Prix, held in torrential rain at the notoriously dangerous Nurburgring circuit, in which he beat his closest rival by over four MINUTES. Stewart's credentials? A three-time Formula One World Champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973, and the record holder for the most Formula One victories (27) when he retired in 1973.
In the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most talked-about races ever, young guns Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof were both catching leader Alain Prost at an amazing pace in torrential rain, despite at the wheels of markedly under-funded and inferior cars. Had the race not been controversially stopped after only 31 of the scheduled 77 laps, both Senna and Bellof would have certainly overtaken Prost for the lead. Despite the setback, Senna would go on to win 41 races and three World Championship titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991. As for Bellof, although he would go on to win the World Sportscar Championship title in 1984 (at a time when Formula One drivers also competed in other racing series at the same time), he would sadly crash to his death at Spa-Francorchamps in 1985, at the age of 28. Nevertheless, Bellof's legacy continues today. In addition to his fearlessness, Bellof is also best remembered as the childhood racing idol for Michael Schumacher, of all people.
During the rainy and chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix, another newcomer outperformed many veterans on the field, making him a star for the future.
Robert Kubica is the first ever Formula One driver from Poland. He previously was the test driver for the BMW team, limited to testing duties during practice on Fridays and Saturdays. However, his quickness has been proved by the stunning lap times set during practices on a regular basis, which landed him the opportunity to race in the Hungarian Grand Prix, subbing for the injured Jacques Villeneuve.
And he didn't disappoint.
Despite taking part in a race proper for the very first time, he managed to out-qualify his more experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld in dry condition. And when the heavens opened on race day, he kept on his good form by climbing up to eighth on the opening lap.
A spin in the chicane on lap two (a rookie mistake no less) dropped him down to 16th, and another spin damaged his front wing which dropped him further back. But he remained competitive throughout and eventually finished seventh, scoring two points on his debut. Unfortunately, he would later be disqualified for having an underweight car by a mere two kilograms, a result of the excessive wear in his tyres due to the changing weather conditions.
The BMW team surely knows a gem has been discovered and promptly parted company with Villeneuve, the 1997 World Champion, after the race. The move means that Kubica will race for the team for the rest of the season, and it looks highly likely that he will continue to partner Heidfeld next season.
Whether Kubica will follow the footsteps of Stewart, Senna or Bellof, Goodness only knows.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Fashion Statement
Apart from being paid a lot of money for throwing a baseball, the starting pitchers of some Major League Baseball teams enjoy some other peculiar privileges as well.
That includes the right to pick which uniform his teammates are going to wear in the games they start.
Starting pitcher is arguably the most important position in baseball. Although they do not appear in every game and will probably play once every four to five games at most, teams nevertheless invest huge sums of money in them, as quality starting pitchers are difficult to find. So some teams simply don't want to mess with them, and even give them the rights to choose jersey for the team to boot.
It's like the goalkeeper of a soccer team with the right to decide whether his teammates will wear home jersey or away jersey, and then some. Imagine the eccentric French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez making the call. Probably his teammates will all have to put on short-sleeved jerseys with the shirt-tail hanging out. And they all will probably be required to wear white boots and extremely short and tight shorts, and to shave their heads bald to be kissed by Laurent Blanc, Barthez's buddy, before every match as well. A team fielding 11 Barthez clones at the same time would be an amazing scene indeed.
And there is no more suitable venue to play the game than Roswell, New Mexico.
...
I bumped into Andriy Shevchenko in a Chelsea jersey on the street the other day, much to my amazement.
I couldn't believe my eyes. So I decided to walk near him to have a closer look.
Sadly, it wasn't him. It was just a guy wearing the latest Adidas Chelsea jersey with Shevchenko's name and famous number seven on his back. What a major disappointment.
You can't help to be amazed with the local jersey dealers' efficiency. Whenever a team has a new jersey on the market, you will most certainly find it in the stores in virtually no time at all. And they will print the names and numbers of your favourite player on the jersey when you buy it, at no extra costs.
I still haven't bought the latest Liverpool jersey yet. But when I buy it, I definitely won't ask for Peter Crouch's name and number 15 on the back of it.
I really don't want to be the mini-me of Crouch. Look, he's six-foot-five, and I'm probably five-foot-six. And he doesn't have the prettiest face either.
I'd rather be anonymous, without any name or number on the back of my jersey.
That includes the right to pick which uniform his teammates are going to wear in the games they start.
Starting pitcher is arguably the most important position in baseball. Although they do not appear in every game and will probably play once every four to five games at most, teams nevertheless invest huge sums of money in them, as quality starting pitchers are difficult to find. So some teams simply don't want to mess with them, and even give them the rights to choose jersey for the team to boot.
It's like the goalkeeper of a soccer team with the right to decide whether his teammates will wear home jersey or away jersey, and then some. Imagine the eccentric French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez making the call. Probably his teammates will all have to put on short-sleeved jerseys with the shirt-tail hanging out. And they all will probably be required to wear white boots and extremely short and tight shorts, and to shave their heads bald to be kissed by Laurent Blanc, Barthez's buddy, before every match as well. A team fielding 11 Barthez clones at the same time would be an amazing scene indeed.
And there is no more suitable venue to play the game than Roswell, New Mexico.
...
I bumped into Andriy Shevchenko in a Chelsea jersey on the street the other day, much to my amazement.
I couldn't believe my eyes. So I decided to walk near him to have a closer look.
Sadly, it wasn't him. It was just a guy wearing the latest Adidas Chelsea jersey with Shevchenko's name and famous number seven on his back. What a major disappointment.
You can't help to be amazed with the local jersey dealers' efficiency. Whenever a team has a new jersey on the market, you will most certainly find it in the stores in virtually no time at all. And they will print the names and numbers of your favourite player on the jersey when you buy it, at no extra costs.
I still haven't bought the latest Liverpool jersey yet. But when I buy it, I definitely won't ask for Peter Crouch's name and number 15 on the back of it.
I really don't want to be the mini-me of Crouch. Look, he's six-foot-five, and I'm probably five-foot-six. And he doesn't have the prettiest face either.
I'd rather be anonymous, without any name or number on the back of my jersey.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Costly Blunders
When Fernando Alonso made his final pit stop and changed to dry tyres with only 19 laps to go in the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was in a strong position to finish on the podium. With Honda's Jenson Button just seconds in front of him yet to make his final pit stop, he looked certain to regain the lead and add 10 more points onto his Championship lead.
Yet within metres after leaving the pit lane, his Renault started to wobble heavily and at the very next corner, the wheel nut from his right rear tyre came loose, rendering Alonso a mere passenger when the car slid into the barrier.
It's all too easy to lay blame in hindsight. There was no need to rush the pit stop for Alonso at all. Michael Schumacher and Pedro de la Rosa were way back behind and had the Renault mechanics been more careful, the wheel nut would have been secured properly and Alonso could have added to his points advantage.
Yet such carelessness has cost him the race and it's the first time Alonso didn't finish a Grand Prix since Canada last year, a span of 23 races.
Alonso's misery could have been compounded had Schumi not committed a blunder of his own.
Schumi was on intermediate tyres during the latter part of the race when the track started to dry up. With Alonso retired, Schumi looked certain to finish on the podium when he held second place against de la Rosa with less than 10 laps to go. Yet with his tyres quickly deteriorating due to the drying track, he lost a huge chunk of time to de la Rosa and had to yield second place.
Then came the challenge of BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
Ferrari's strategy was obvious and understandable: Try to hold everyone up, given the difficulty to overtake on this track. And with three laps to go, it looked like that Schumi might just be able to hold on to his third place by skipping the final pit stop. By finishing third, he would score six points and cut Alonso's lead in the Championship down to five points.
But Schumi was an easy prey for Heidfeld. His Ferrari was simply not on pace with the BMW and when the pair approached the chicane. Heidfeld dove to the inside of Schumi.
Being highly competitive as always, Schumi didn't want to give up anything without a fight. And when Heidfeld dove inside of him, Schumi tried to close the door but, in the very last second, decided to back out as Heidfeld was already in front.
Alas, Schumi didn't give the BMW enough room, and the cars touched. Heidfeld was somehow safely through, but Schumi suffered a damaged front suspension and had to retire from the race. In fact, the suspension could have already been damaged when he collided with Giancarlo Fisichella earlier in the race.
Had Schumi given up his third place to Heidfeld more easily, he still could have finished in a comfortable fourth place, giving him five points. Now he is only classified eighth, with only one point as a reward.
Two major constructors, two costly blunders. It proves that no one is immune to mistakes, and that Formula One can still be as dramatic as ever.
Yet within metres after leaving the pit lane, his Renault started to wobble heavily and at the very next corner, the wheel nut from his right rear tyre came loose, rendering Alonso a mere passenger when the car slid into the barrier.
It's all too easy to lay blame in hindsight. There was no need to rush the pit stop for Alonso at all. Michael Schumacher and Pedro de la Rosa were way back behind and had the Renault mechanics been more careful, the wheel nut would have been secured properly and Alonso could have added to his points advantage.
Yet such carelessness has cost him the race and it's the first time Alonso didn't finish a Grand Prix since Canada last year, a span of 23 races.
Alonso's misery could have been compounded had Schumi not committed a blunder of his own.
Schumi was on intermediate tyres during the latter part of the race when the track started to dry up. With Alonso retired, Schumi looked certain to finish on the podium when he held second place against de la Rosa with less than 10 laps to go. Yet with his tyres quickly deteriorating due to the drying track, he lost a huge chunk of time to de la Rosa and had to yield second place.
Then came the challenge of BMW's Nick Heidfeld.
Ferrari's strategy was obvious and understandable: Try to hold everyone up, given the difficulty to overtake on this track. And with three laps to go, it looked like that Schumi might just be able to hold on to his third place by skipping the final pit stop. By finishing third, he would score six points and cut Alonso's lead in the Championship down to five points.
But Schumi was an easy prey for Heidfeld. His Ferrari was simply not on pace with the BMW and when the pair approached the chicane. Heidfeld dove to the inside of Schumi.
Being highly competitive as always, Schumi didn't want to give up anything without a fight. And when Heidfeld dove inside of him, Schumi tried to close the door but, in the very last second, decided to back out as Heidfeld was already in front.
Alas, Schumi didn't give the BMW enough room, and the cars touched. Heidfeld was somehow safely through, but Schumi suffered a damaged front suspension and had to retire from the race. In fact, the suspension could have already been damaged when he collided with Giancarlo Fisichella earlier in the race.
Had Schumi given up his third place to Heidfeld more easily, he still could have finished in a comfortable fourth place, giving him five points. Now he is only classified eighth, with only one point as a reward.
Two major constructors, two costly blunders. It proves that no one is immune to mistakes, and that Formula One can still be as dramatic as ever.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Button Prevails (Finally)
Being an avid Formula One fan, I never want to miss any action when it is shown live on television. However, due to other commitments, I almost didn't turn on the TV in time to witness one of the most exciting races for quite a while.
The Hungarian Grand Prix has been known as a yawner of a race, given the track's slow speed nature and the difficulty in overtaking. Since its inception in 1986, only two Hungarian Grand Prix races have been won by a driver who qualified outside the top three (Nigel Mansell won it in 1989 from 12th on the grid, while Kimi Raikkonen won it from fourth last year).
However, there is a twist to this year's race: The top two drivers of this year's Championship, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, have both been assessed a two-second penalty to their qualifying times for separate infractions. As a result, Schumi started 11th on the grid, Alonso 15th.
And when I finally turned on my TV, it was raining heavily on the race track. I knew it was going to be a chaotic race, destined to be full of surprises.
And it most definitely was.
The first lap saw both Schumi and Alonso storming to the front of the grid. Being handicapped by the ill-performing wet Bridgestone tyres on his car, Schumi fought defiantly against Alonso, but in the end had to yield.
At the front, the pole-sitter Raikkonen soon built a comfortable advantage over the rest of the field, and looked as though he could notch up his first victory of the season. Yet in quick succession, he lost his lead to Alonso, then inadvertently crashed into the back of the slowing Toro Rosso of Vitantonio Liuzzi, forcing him to retire on the spot and bringing out the safety car, which completely changed the outcome of the race.
With the cars bunched up behind the safety car, Jenson Button, who started 14th due to an engine change in practice, was able to significantly close his gap to Alonso. And when Alonso crashed out following a damaged wheel nut, Button took the lead which he never relinquished. In the end, Button finally took his first ever victory in Formula One on his 113th try. And it was Honda's first victory as a constructor since the 1967 Italian Grand Prix .
Only two other drivers had to wait longer before winning their first race in Formula One: Rubens Barrichello got his maiden win on his 124th try, while Jarno Trulli won his first (and so far the only) race in his 117th race.
McLaren's replacement driver Pedro de la Rosa finished second some 30 seconds back, while BMW's Nick Heidfeld finished third. All three drivers on the podium combine for ZERO victory in Formula One before this race, a rare feat indeed.
And although Schumi didn't finish the race and was out of the points for being classified ninth, he was promoted to eighth when the seventh-placed Robert Kubica of Poland, on his debut, was disqualified for having an underweight car. This allowed Schumi to gain a single vital point in the race for the Championship. He now trails Alonso by only 10 points.
With five races to go, this year's Championship remains very much wide open.
And I'm praying for more rain in the coming races.
The Hungarian Grand Prix has been known as a yawner of a race, given the track's slow speed nature and the difficulty in overtaking. Since its inception in 1986, only two Hungarian Grand Prix races have been won by a driver who qualified outside the top three (Nigel Mansell won it in 1989 from 12th on the grid, while Kimi Raikkonen won it from fourth last year).
However, there is a twist to this year's race: The top two drivers of this year's Championship, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, have both been assessed a two-second penalty to their qualifying times for separate infractions. As a result, Schumi started 11th on the grid, Alonso 15th.
And when I finally turned on my TV, it was raining heavily on the race track. I knew it was going to be a chaotic race, destined to be full of surprises.
And it most definitely was.
The first lap saw both Schumi and Alonso storming to the front of the grid. Being handicapped by the ill-performing wet Bridgestone tyres on his car, Schumi fought defiantly against Alonso, but in the end had to yield.
At the front, the pole-sitter Raikkonen soon built a comfortable advantage over the rest of the field, and looked as though he could notch up his first victory of the season. Yet in quick succession, he lost his lead to Alonso, then inadvertently crashed into the back of the slowing Toro Rosso of Vitantonio Liuzzi, forcing him to retire on the spot and bringing out the safety car, which completely changed the outcome of the race.
With the cars bunched up behind the safety car, Jenson Button, who started 14th due to an engine change in practice, was able to significantly close his gap to Alonso. And when Alonso crashed out following a damaged wheel nut, Button took the lead which he never relinquished. In the end, Button finally took his first ever victory in Formula One on his 113th try. And it was Honda's first victory as a constructor since the 1967 Italian Grand Prix .
Only two other drivers had to wait longer before winning their first race in Formula One: Rubens Barrichello got his maiden win on his 124th try, while Jarno Trulli won his first (and so far the only) race in his 117th race.
McLaren's replacement driver Pedro de la Rosa finished second some 30 seconds back, while BMW's Nick Heidfeld finished third. All three drivers on the podium combine for ZERO victory in Formula One before this race, a rare feat indeed.
And although Schumi didn't finish the race and was out of the points for being classified ninth, he was promoted to eighth when the seventh-placed Robert Kubica of Poland, on his debut, was disqualified for having an underweight car. This allowed Schumi to gain a single vital point in the race for the Championship. He now trails Alonso by only 10 points.
With five races to go, this year's Championship remains very much wide open.
And I'm praying for more rain in the coming races.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Silly Season of Formula One
This time each year, there are bound to be speculations regarding drivers' movement in Formula One teams the following season. It's time for Yours Truly to make some equally silly predictions.
Fernando Alonso (Renault): The reigning World Champion has already signed with McLaren, but which driver will race alongside him is yet to be decided. Prediction: Done deal.
Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault): Just signed a new deal which would keep him with Renault until the end of 2007. Prediction: Done deal.
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari): There have long been rumours that seven-time World Champion will retire after his contract with the team expires at the end of this season. However, Ferrari's recent renaissance is an incentive strong enough to keep him racing. Prediction: Remain with Ferrari for one final season.
Felipe Massa (Ferrari): The Brazilian will definitely remain with Ferrari next season for two main reasons. First, he just joined the team this year and is performing admirably as Schumi's understudy. Second, he is managed by Nicolas Todt, the son of Ferrari's Team Principal Jean Todt, of all people. However, whether he will be a race driver or test driver depends very much on Schumi's decision. Prediction: Race alongside Schumi next season.
Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren): The only driver who can choose to drive for any of the top three teams (i.e., Renault, Ferrari and McLaren). He has been rumoured to move on to Ferrari to partner or replace Michael Schumacher for quite a while. Jean Todt recently dropped a blatantly obvious hint on his admiration of Raikkonen by referring Schumi, Massa and Kimi as his "three favourite drivers". Yet given Schumi's history of preferring a decidedly inferior driver as his teammate, the chance of Kimi and Schumi racing together seems remote. If Schumi retires, Kimi will definitely move on to Ferrari as the number one driver, partnering Massa. If he doesn't, Massa will stay on as number two and look for Kimi to find a drive elsewhere. His best two options are jumping ship to Renault (partnering the underperforming Fisichella) and staying on with McLaren (partnering the ultra-competitive Alonso). Prediction: Jump ship to Renault.
Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren): Juan Pablo Montoya's replacement at McLaren has been solid but if unspectacular since given the chance to race again. Problem is, he and Alonso are both from Spain, and from a commercial point of view, it would be better for the two drivers to come from different parts of the world, to allow their sponsors to enjoy as much exposure as possible. Prediction: Stay on as a test driver.
Mark Webber (Williams): Having turned down a contract extension with the team, Webber saw his seat in Williams next season taken by its test driver, Alex Wurz. With Flavio Briatore, the Managing Director of Renault as his manager, Webber should have the inside track of securing the much coveted Renault seat. But if Raikkonen decides to leave McLaren, Webber will definitely lose out. If that's the case, look for Briatore to secure a deal with one of the better teams, such as BMW or Red Bull. Prediction: Sign with Red Bull, replacing Christian Klien.
Gary Paffett (Second test driver of McLaren): The odds-on favourite to land the second McLaren seat next season. His impeccable track record in Formula Vauxhall, British Formula Three and Germany's DTM series will make him one of the hottest prospects in Formula One in recent years. Prediction: Replace Kimi and race alongside Alonso at McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton (Current championship leader of the GP2 Series): McLaren's Team Principal Ron Dennis recently said that Hamilton, a 21-year-old Briton who has been supported by McLaren throughout his racing career, may not necessarily start his Formula One career with McLaren. With the new Prodrive team set to commence operation in 2007, and its Chairman David Richards hoping the team to hook up with McLaren as its "B" team, look for Hamilton to play a huge role in Prodrive's development. Prediction: Test driver with Prodrive in 2007 and race driver in 2008.
Fernando Alonso (Renault): The reigning World Champion has already signed with McLaren, but which driver will race alongside him is yet to be decided. Prediction: Done deal.
Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault): Just signed a new deal which would keep him with Renault until the end of 2007. Prediction: Done deal.
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari): There have long been rumours that seven-time World Champion will retire after his contract with the team expires at the end of this season. However, Ferrari's recent renaissance is an incentive strong enough to keep him racing. Prediction: Remain with Ferrari for one final season.
Felipe Massa (Ferrari): The Brazilian will definitely remain with Ferrari next season for two main reasons. First, he just joined the team this year and is performing admirably as Schumi's understudy. Second, he is managed by Nicolas Todt, the son of Ferrari's Team Principal Jean Todt, of all people. However, whether he will be a race driver or test driver depends very much on Schumi's decision. Prediction: Race alongside Schumi next season.
Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren): The only driver who can choose to drive for any of the top three teams (i.e., Renault, Ferrari and McLaren). He has been rumoured to move on to Ferrari to partner or replace Michael Schumacher for quite a while. Jean Todt recently dropped a blatantly obvious hint on his admiration of Raikkonen by referring Schumi, Massa and Kimi as his "three favourite drivers". Yet given Schumi's history of preferring a decidedly inferior driver as his teammate, the chance of Kimi and Schumi racing together seems remote. If Schumi retires, Kimi will definitely move on to Ferrari as the number one driver, partnering Massa. If he doesn't, Massa will stay on as number two and look for Kimi to find a drive elsewhere. His best two options are jumping ship to Renault (partnering the underperforming Fisichella) and staying on with McLaren (partnering the ultra-competitive Alonso). Prediction: Jump ship to Renault.
Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren): Juan Pablo Montoya's replacement at McLaren has been solid but if unspectacular since given the chance to race again. Problem is, he and Alonso are both from Spain, and from a commercial point of view, it would be better for the two drivers to come from different parts of the world, to allow their sponsors to enjoy as much exposure as possible. Prediction: Stay on as a test driver.
Mark Webber (Williams): Having turned down a contract extension with the team, Webber saw his seat in Williams next season taken by its test driver, Alex Wurz. With Flavio Briatore, the Managing Director of Renault as his manager, Webber should have the inside track of securing the much coveted Renault seat. But if Raikkonen decides to leave McLaren, Webber will definitely lose out. If that's the case, look for Briatore to secure a deal with one of the better teams, such as BMW or Red Bull. Prediction: Sign with Red Bull, replacing Christian Klien.
Gary Paffett (Second test driver of McLaren): The odds-on favourite to land the second McLaren seat next season. His impeccable track record in Formula Vauxhall, British Formula Three and Germany's DTM series will make him one of the hottest prospects in Formula One in recent years. Prediction: Replace Kimi and race alongside Alonso at McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton (Current championship leader of the GP2 Series): McLaren's Team Principal Ron Dennis recently said that Hamilton, a 21-year-old Briton who has been supported by McLaren throughout his racing career, may not necessarily start his Formula One career with McLaren. With the new Prodrive team set to commence operation in 2007, and its Chairman David Richards hoping the team to hook up with McLaren as its "B" team, look for Hamilton to play a huge role in Prodrive's development. Prediction: Test driver with Prodrive in 2007 and race driver in 2008.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
There is No "I" But a "Tease" in "Teammates"
In a rather casual and relaxed training session for Real Madrid yesterday, the rugged and hard-tackling Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen decided to practise his long-forgotten rough tackling and took out his teammate, Brazilian striker Robinho.
Robinho, being as flimsy as ever, didn't take the tackle well. He decided to honestly tell Gravesen what he thought and Gravesen, being as tough as ever, also decided to have an honest discussion, with the two players only millimetres apart. And it didn't surprise anyone that the verbal jarring soon turned into physical altercation, with the two players pushing and shoving each other. Luckily, there were soon separated by their intervening teammates.
Eventually, coach Fabio Capello decided to sit down the two players and ordered them to watch the remaining of the training session at the side of the pitch.
(Moral of the story: If you want to have an early shower after a tough workout in scorching heat, get into a fight.)
Feuding among teammates is not uncommon in the sporting world. In an English Premier League match between Newcastle and Aston Villa in April 2005, Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were so mad at each other that a fight eventually broke out.
Problem was, Bowyer and Dyer were teammates of Newcastle, and their altercation took place after they had fallen behind to the visitors 0-3.
While FIFA President Sepp Blatter lamented the number of red and yellow cards shown in the World Cup matches, the referee that day had no choice but to send both of them off, deservedly so.
And not only teammate on a football team would be feuding with each other. In 2003, Oakland Raiders veteran Bill Romanowski sucker punched rookie teammate Marcus Williams in a training session due to an alleged verbal abuse. Although monetary damages had been awarded to Williams subsequently in a law court, Williams suffered a broken eye socket and soon had to retire from football.
In 2002, Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, the two star players of the San Francisco Giants, decided to settle their nth argument in the dugout during a game, and the skirmish was caught by the TV crews. Bonds and Kent had been at odds with each other for a while, and at the end of the season, Kent decided that "enough is enough" and signed with the Houston Astros.
However, the most tragic (some say the creepiest) feuding among teammates took place in 1982, in the Ferrari Formula One team.
At the San Marino Grand Prix, Canadian Gilles Villeneuve and Frenchman Didier Pironi received the team instruction to slow their cars down, as the pair were literally miles ahead of everyone and had no need to push hard. Team leader Villeneuve duly obliged, having been a loyal second man to then team leader Jody Scheckter in 1979 when Scheckter won the World Championship, which Villeneuve could have won easily had he not followed his team leader in so many races that season, as per team order.
However Pironi, the supposedly second man to Villeneuve, was having none of it, and decided to overtake Villeneuve and won the race. Feeling betrayed, Villeneuve was conspicuously sullen on the podium, and vowed that he would never speak to Pironi again for the rest of his life.
Many thought that time would resolve their dispute, but Villeneuve had no time. In the final qualifying session for the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix less than two weeks later, Villeneuve crashed fatally in a last ditch attempt to better Pironi's time.
In the absence of Villeneuve, Pironi took over as the number one driver for Ferrari, and looked certain to win the Championship. But it turned out that more tragedies would follow him like a shadow.
First, in the Canadian Grand Prix only a month after Villeneuve's death, Pironi stalled his car on the starting grid and Riccardo Paletti, a young Italian driver in an Osella, crashed into the back of the Ferrari at full speed and would subsequently die. It was the first Formula One race held on the circuit after being renamed as Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, in honour of the feisty French-Canadian.
Less than two months later, Pironi himself would have a horrific accident while practising for the German Grand Prix, and the injuries suffered were so serious that he would never race in Formula One again. Eventually, he would lose his hard-earned but comfortable lead in the Championship, and his life in a power boating accident in 1987.
(Moral of the story: Don't mess with your teammates. Otherwise he/she/it will come back haunt you in whichever way imaginable.)
Robinho, being as flimsy as ever, didn't take the tackle well. He decided to honestly tell Gravesen what he thought and Gravesen, being as tough as ever, also decided to have an honest discussion, with the two players only millimetres apart. And it didn't surprise anyone that the verbal jarring soon turned into physical altercation, with the two players pushing and shoving each other. Luckily, there were soon separated by their intervening teammates.
Eventually, coach Fabio Capello decided to sit down the two players and ordered them to watch the remaining of the training session at the side of the pitch.
(Moral of the story: If you want to have an early shower after a tough workout in scorching heat, get into a fight.)
Feuding among teammates is not uncommon in the sporting world. In an English Premier League match between Newcastle and Aston Villa in April 2005, Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were so mad at each other that a fight eventually broke out.
Problem was, Bowyer and Dyer were teammates of Newcastle, and their altercation took place after they had fallen behind to the visitors 0-3.
While FIFA President Sepp Blatter lamented the number of red and yellow cards shown in the World Cup matches, the referee that day had no choice but to send both of them off, deservedly so.
And not only teammate on a football team would be feuding with each other. In 2003, Oakland Raiders veteran Bill Romanowski sucker punched rookie teammate Marcus Williams in a training session due to an alleged verbal abuse. Although monetary damages had been awarded to Williams subsequently in a law court, Williams suffered a broken eye socket and soon had to retire from football.
In 2002, Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, the two star players of the San Francisco Giants, decided to settle their nth argument in the dugout during a game, and the skirmish was caught by the TV crews. Bonds and Kent had been at odds with each other for a while, and at the end of the season, Kent decided that "enough is enough" and signed with the Houston Astros.
However, the most tragic (some say the creepiest) feuding among teammates took place in 1982, in the Ferrari Formula One team.
At the San Marino Grand Prix, Canadian Gilles Villeneuve and Frenchman Didier Pironi received the team instruction to slow their cars down, as the pair were literally miles ahead of everyone and had no need to push hard. Team leader Villeneuve duly obliged, having been a loyal second man to then team leader Jody Scheckter in 1979 when Scheckter won the World Championship, which Villeneuve could have won easily had he not followed his team leader in so many races that season, as per team order.
However Pironi, the supposedly second man to Villeneuve, was having none of it, and decided to overtake Villeneuve and won the race. Feeling betrayed, Villeneuve was conspicuously sullen on the podium, and vowed that he would never speak to Pironi again for the rest of his life.
Many thought that time would resolve their dispute, but Villeneuve had no time. In the final qualifying session for the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix less than two weeks later, Villeneuve crashed fatally in a last ditch attempt to better Pironi's time.
In the absence of Villeneuve, Pironi took over as the number one driver for Ferrari, and looked certain to win the Championship. But it turned out that more tragedies would follow him like a shadow.
First, in the Canadian Grand Prix only a month after Villeneuve's death, Pironi stalled his car on the starting grid and Riccardo Paletti, a young Italian driver in an Osella, crashed into the back of the Ferrari at full speed and would subsequently die. It was the first Formula One race held on the circuit after being renamed as Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, in honour of the feisty French-Canadian.
Less than two months later, Pironi himself would have a horrific accident while practising for the German Grand Prix, and the injuries suffered were so serious that he would never race in Formula One again. Eventually, he would lose his hard-earned but comfortable lead in the Championship, and his life in a power boating accident in 1987.
(Moral of the story: Don't mess with your teammates. Otherwise he/she/it will come back haunt you in whichever way imaginable.)
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The Unbearable Unfairness of Being (in UEFA Competitions)
When Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio were investigated for the match-fixing scandal last season, the majority of soccer fans expected some sort of punishment to be handed out against these four teams.
The question wasn't "IF" any punishment would be given out, but "WHICH" punishment would be handed out. Point penalty? Relegation? Stripping of titles?
But for the lowly Empoli, it seems that they never expect that the clubs would be punished. Instead, they are now the one being punished and hit the hardest.
Empoli finished a creditable 10th in Serie A last season. And after the dust has been settled and all penalties given out, Empoli was eventually classified seventh and suddenly found themselves qualified for the UEFA Cup, a major financial boost for them.
But there is one problem: They don't have a licence for UEFA competitions, and the deadline for application had come and passed.
To their credit, they did submit an emergency application for the licence shortly after the deadline, hoping for leniency. Yet like many other feel-good stories, this one had an unhappy ending too. Their application was turned down, and their place in the UEFA Cup has been taken up by Parma, which finished the season level on points with Empoli and, most importantly, having obtained the UEFA licence thanks to their regular qualification into UEFA competitions a number of years ago.
It would have been a proud moment for the financially-challenged Tuscany club to appear in the big stage for the very first time in their history. Now they have to stay home and watch Parma, which had beaten them home and away last season.
To me, UEFA's refusal to grant the licence to Empoli is pathetic and unfair, as clubs just don't expect to be promoted three places after the end of the season, and all of a sudden into UEFA competitions. Empoli simply didn't have time to make amends, and UEFA's refusal was an out-and-out cold-blooded move.
And incidentally, Milan has been admitted by UEFA for the Champions League this season.
In the end, it probably comes to down the finances.
Would you rather pay to watch Milan, a team with star players in all positions, or lowly Empoli, an unfashionable club mostly consists of promising home-grown talents?
And you bet UEFA knows which side of the bread is buttered on.
The question wasn't "IF" any punishment would be given out, but "WHICH" punishment would be handed out. Point penalty? Relegation? Stripping of titles?
But for the lowly Empoli, it seems that they never expect that the clubs would be punished. Instead, they are now the one being punished and hit the hardest.
Empoli finished a creditable 10th in Serie A last season. And after the dust has been settled and all penalties given out, Empoli was eventually classified seventh and suddenly found themselves qualified for the UEFA Cup, a major financial boost for them.
But there is one problem: They don't have a licence for UEFA competitions, and the deadline for application had come and passed.
To their credit, they did submit an emergency application for the licence shortly after the deadline, hoping for leniency. Yet like many other feel-good stories, this one had an unhappy ending too. Their application was turned down, and their place in the UEFA Cup has been taken up by Parma, which finished the season level on points with Empoli and, most importantly, having obtained the UEFA licence thanks to their regular qualification into UEFA competitions a number of years ago.
It would have been a proud moment for the financially-challenged Tuscany club to appear in the big stage for the very first time in their history. Now they have to stay home and watch Parma, which had beaten them home and away last season.
To me, UEFA's refusal to grant the licence to Empoli is pathetic and unfair, as clubs just don't expect to be promoted three places after the end of the season, and all of a sudden into UEFA competitions. Empoli simply didn't have time to make amends, and UEFA's refusal was an out-and-out cold-blooded move.
And incidentally, Milan has been admitted by UEFA for the Champions League this season.
In the end, it probably comes to down the finances.
Would you rather pay to watch Milan, a team with star players in all positions, or lowly Empoli, an unfashionable club mostly consists of promising home-grown talents?
And you bet UEFA knows which side of the bread is buttered on.
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