?

It would be nice if there was spring in between winter and summer. First it was bloody cold and now it is going to be bloody hot that soon. Maybe I should import some nice clean weather from Lusaka. We won the first game and I am interested in seeing how the raptors react and how we counter act. This is the last season that the three of them will be together. I need to buy a new car. I need to get to the point where I want to spend the money. Maybe I should buy a bike and keep my car. Maybe I should buy a nice car and forget about the bike. Do I really like bikes? I don’t know. Am I too old for bikes? Who knows? I can never decide anything with conviction. I don’t even know if I have an opinion at times. Sad. I don’t believe anything happens for a reason. I believe everything happens without reason. Such is life. That could possibly be the answer to life. What is the point of having an opinion when there is no logic for most things in life?

Nets Vs Raptors

The play offs begin tomorrow. The Nets will be playing the Raptors at Toronto. Till a couple of weeks ago, we didn’t know if we would be making the play offs and now we are the 6th seed with a decent possibility of going into the conference semi finals and maybe even the conference finals. The only hurdle at the end of the road is Detroit which is a strong, stable and effective team. The eastern conference has too many scatter brain teams including the nets but excluding the pistons. So, on any given day, anyone can beat anyone and get anywhere. Hence, the chances of making it all the way to the conference finals look pretty possible from where I am sitting at. I have all through the season blamed Carter for not being man enough. I have also said that he doesn’t have a heart of a champion like Jason Kidd does. In the season finale, Jason with his hustle proved that he was the heart and soul of the nets. His energy translated into steals, fast break points and a miserly defense. Chicago was in disarray all through the game and couldn’t really catch up.
Tomorrow begins the final test for Carter. The time for him to stand up and play like a champion. To carry a team on his shoulders and not let the boos shut him up. He cannot come out subdued and cannot defer to the other champion. He has to take the bulls by the horn. The first game will set the tone for the series and most importantly point towards which side things will lean. I am an eternal optimist. I hope and pray that Carter grows big cohonas and beats the shit out of the raptors. Not in a crazy maniacal way but in a cool composed way. That’s the only way we will win.

Haarverd

This weekend we went out again. Trying to live up to the resolution made that we will not sit at home anymore. We were supposed to travel to Maryland over the weekend but that didn’t pan out as all parties involved were not up to it. So, wifey and me decided to make it to Boston for the weekend. We also decided to invite two of our good friends along. For some strange reason, I didn’t want to go on Friday even though we took off and we left only on Saturday. I have no clue why I was adamant to leave only on Saturday. Sometimes, I do things which I do and I have no clue why I do and I question it only afterwards.
So, we were supposed to leave at 9 in the morning but ended up leaving around 12ish after stopping at a bloody rest area and eating at Burger king. We stuffed ourselves with crap and set out on our journey towards New England. We were there by 4 in the evening and my wife pointed towards a tall ass building in downtown and asked me to drive towards it. In no time, we ended up in the parking lot of prudential center. It said public parking and I was very happy as anything public is usually free. Apparently it was not. It was a rip off. Anyways, we got into the building and made our way through the Pru center as one of my friends I met in Boston called it. The stores were all bloody expensive and I spent my time salivating by the windows of the Tag Heuer store. One day, I have got to get myself one of those. So my friend and me followed our respective wives around as they spoke to the customer service girl and planned the evening. Apparently, we wanted to have brunch the following day at the restaurant on top of this big ass building. The four of us headed by lift to the zillionth floor to make a booking for the next day brunch. The entrance was the closest we got to the restaurant and I cant remember the name. It was top of the deck or something or sounded close to that. For Easter weekend they had a special Easter brunch starting off at 70 bucks a pop. I am happy that we all decided not to go ahead with this ridiculous proposition. I am happy to note that my friends are as smart as me when it comes to money and do not like throwing it around. We hastily returned to the lift and headed literally back to earth. After that, the wives again decided that the duck tour through Boston on a Sunday blistery morning would be the best way to move ahead in life. They made the booking for the next day morning ride and then we drove to Harvard which is just a few miles away. This involved a drive via Mass Avenue into Harvard square. We were lucky enough to get parking at Harvard square. We embarked on a walk into the great seat of learning. The architecture is pretty unique with a beautiful old school setting. There were brilliant people all around carrying their IQs in a bag. There were tons of unique stores along Mass Avenue. It was cold but it was fun.
We ended up meeting with some friends of my wife. They were at this wine place which was a little too high class for me. There was nothing I could really eat or drink there. So, I settled for a cup of coffee. We spoke for a little while and then we split. We walked towards this so called restaurant which was supposed to be good. “Bombay Club”. I really didn’t care. All I cared was that it had a bar. Ended up waiting at the bar and drinking a royal horse from UB. It was a little too light for my liking. We finally found a table and the food was good and all and I am getting tired of typing.
We did plenty of good stuff which involved a duck tour through Boston. Before I forget, I like Boston. I like the culture and I like the hepness about it. I like the way everything looks pristine and thoroughly original. By the way, jersey is a confirmed shit hole. Maybe, we should move to Boston where I can go to Harvard on a bike and my wife can work as a librarian making 12-15 bucks an hour and living in a single bedroom apartment. It seems to be a place which can inspire and guide you towards a higher place. There seems to be so much of history to this place. Plus, I love the accent and I always have. Haarverd, i love you.

Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust. Anil Radhakrishnan Kumble has announced that he will be hanging up his boots at least from one day cricket. Good for him. As Mukul Kesavan said in his blog, the Indian one day team actually didn’t deserve him. They didn’t deserve that hard working middle class boy from Bangalore. The ugly duckling that turned into a swan with an amazing attitude and even more incredible work ethic. I love the guy. In the mid 90’s when I was growing up in Bangalore, one of my very good friends was Kumble’s neighbor. His house was located by the Yediyur lake in Jayanagar. It was a typical old Bangalore styled house with red oxide floors and all. By that time, he had already been doing well and had moved out on his own to Wadia road where I think he still lives with his wife and kids. Anyways, coming back to his parent’s house, he was a product of that house. He belonged to a typical middle class family with certain uniqueness to him. He was humble and strong. He never took anything for granted and remembered where he came from. All through out his career, he never got anything handed to him on a platter. He had to fight for what ever he achieved and you could see that he wanted to be there. Every time he took the field to bowl, I remember the look on his face. Those steely eyes, that concentration on the wicket and most importantly a constant thinking mind. He was always trying different things. His consistency amazed me time and again. Him and McGrath were known for their consistency. Every bowl he bowled, you had to play it no matter what. If you were not confident about what foot you want to be on, you were bound to be out. It was tough to read the pitch of the ball as it would hurry to you at a pace which made it difficult to decide where you should and what shot you should be playing. I think Srinath once said that he was a spinner in a fast bowler’s body. He had the aggression and commitment to the wicket. I remember how at one point of time we had atleast 6 players from Karnataka in the one day team. Kumble, Srinath, Prasad, Dravid, Dodda Ganesh and David Johnson. I don’t think Dravid was around at that time.
Let me get back to now. Kumble again is one of my last connections to the game of cricket. One of the guys I can relate to as my own. A few remain and the chord will then be finally cut. I hope players learn to play cricket and carry themselves like this man. Never said a wrong word and never did the wrong thing. Always enjoyed what he did and was a shining example. I wish you well and I hope you come back a commentator as I know that your language is impeccable and your brains are sharp. You will provide valuable insight to the game with your sophistication and thought process. Guys like Kumble end up doing well no matter what they do. They are not enormously talented but have the basic drive to achieve and to compete. He will be back in some other avatar in which he shall excel. It’s a given.