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  1. Link to Post #181
    UK Avalon Founder Bill Ryan's Avatar
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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Maybe this kind of thing (cheating in various sports) might deserve its own thread. It's pretty interesting, and sometimes tragic.

    A parallel to solo mountaineering is solo ocean sailing. Many years ago, in 1968-69, there was a British yachtsman called Donald Crowhurst, taking part in a widely publicized solo round-the-world race.
    He seemed to be doing remarkably well, and from his daily radio reports of his position and progress (this was long before GPS), he was clearly well in the lead. The British press prepared to toast a returning hero.

    But then, his boat was found abandoned. He'd committed suicide. He'd realized that his faked reports would inevitably be discovered when the experts, some of whom were already skeptical, scrutinized his logs.

    It was a very sad situation, and the logs were later to clearly reveal his steadily deteriorating mental condition. He had absolutely nowhere to go.


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  3. Link to Post #182
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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    . . . . .
    Last edited by Bluegreen; 9th February 2021 at 05:23.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    Maybe this kind of thing (cheating in various sports) might deserve its own thread. It's pretty interesting, and sometimes tragic.
    Cricket’s Match Fixers: The Munawar Files (58:10)
    Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit reveals more explosive evidence of corruption in cricket after Cricket’s Match-Fixers rocked the sport in May 2018. The Munawar Files reveal that the match-fixer featured in the earlier documentary is part of a powerful criminal syndicate and has been fixing international matches since 2010. Al Jazeera’s investigators have obtained telephone recordings that show Aneel Munawar ringing in details of fixes in 15 international matches to a notorious Indian bookmaker. The fixed sessions involve some of the world’s best-known players. The teams include England, Australia and Pakistan. Many of the matches include multiple fixes and two involve both teams, making a total of 25 fixes in 15 matches at the highest levels of international cricket. The investigation also discovers that the sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council, knew about Munawar as long ago as 2010.


    NB: Excellent documentary!
    You Can't Talk and Listen at the Same Time

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    . . . . .
    Last edited by Bluegreen; 9th February 2021 at 05:24.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Australia vs India - 3rd Test - Day 5 (8:29)
    I saw most of this 5 day test 'live' and I must say it was one of the most fascinating matches I've seen in a long time.
    At the start of day 5 it looked like an Australian victory was inevitable, and bowling India all out was just a formality, but the Indian batsmen had other plans and showed why they are among the best (test) cricketers in the world.

    If you wanna watch, be quick, cos' I don't think this upload will be up long.

    India are 98/2 and need a total of 407 to win

    Enjoy!
    Last edited by Richter; 12th January 2021 at 00:13.
    You Can't Talk and Listen at the Same Time

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    . . . . .
    Last edited by Bluegreen; 9th February 2021 at 05:25.

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  13. Link to Post #187
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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    BTW...

    The NBA is on its way again for a little while now ...

    Highlights of all games here:
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-X...o8rkJgw/videos

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    ... and indeed Bluegreen, Tom Brady is the player the country most loves to hate, regardless of what team he is playing for.
    Since he left the New England Patriots, that team is at best a vague shadow of the Patriots with Brady.

    Brady is the Le Bron James (Tom Cruise) of American Football, he always delivers.

    And the Buccaneers?
    They flourish!
    Every now and than, that is.


    Highlights of all games here:
    https://www.youtube.com/c/NFL/featured
    Last edited by Richter; 13th January 2021 at 16:05.
    You Can't Talk and Listen at the Same Time

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Skiing by Dummies (8:15)
    You Can't Talk and Listen at the Same Time

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    . . . . .
    Last edited by Bluegreen; 9th February 2021 at 05:26.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Bluegreen I hope you pay attention to my Jags next season. 1st round draft pic (hello Trevor Lawrence), Urban Meyer as new head coach, new staff, high salary cap... We might actually win a game. I'm not getting my hopes up, but it's nice to see change.
    Last edited by Strat; 19th January 2021 at 02:48.
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  21. Link to Post #191
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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Just as just over half of the American voting population was mourning an inexplicable loss, on the other side of the world three-quarters of the Indian population, over a billion people, were dancing in the streets over an inexplicable win.

    I'm gonna try to make this as interesting as possible, because this is about cricket. And because cricket is so complicated, incredible things really can happen in that world. This was one of them.

    Tens of thousands of words have already been written about this. And there'll be several books, and surely a film.

    Myself, I'm going to title this little essay, Heroism of the Fifth Kind. Wait and see why.

    An international cricket match is called a Test Match, or often, just a 'Test'. (Why this is so, is lost in the mists of cricket history about 150 years ago.)

    What just concluded was a four-Test series between India and Australia, all held in Australia. And it's VERY hard for anyone to win in Australia against the Australians.

    The First Test: 0-1

    India lost, ignominiously. They scored, between all eleven batsmen, just 36. (The world record test score is 952, and the highest test score by just one batsman alone is 400.) 36 is almost unheard of, the 5th lowest ever team total in 2,400 matches since 1877. It's like a soccer team being beaten 25-0, or Alex Honnold falling off a ladder.

    The pundits tut-tutted sagely and predicted a 4-0 'whitewash' (in cricket, still politically correct). Like Ali vs Foreman, India were on the ropes, looking beaten.

    The Second Test: 1-1

    No real heroics emerged here. But somehow, India played extremely well and won. Everyone lauded them for their surprising fightback, even though the iconic Indian captain and one of the best batsmen in the world, Kohli, had returned home to attend the birth of his child. The captaincy was inherited by Rahane, a very different personality: a quiet man, universally liked and respected, who led his team in a most inspired way.

    The Third Test: 1-1

    The tally didn't change, because it was a draw. But it was a draw for the ages.

    By now the Indian team had already suffered a bizarre sequence of serious injuries, one after another. With everyone away from their families already for months and covid-locked down in hard Australian style, Shami, one of the young team members, learned of the sudden death of his father back home from a heart attack. He stayed with the team in Australia because he was needed: Heroism of the First Kind.

    On the final day (each Test lasts for 5 days), Australia needed to bowl out every one of the Indian team to win. But two of the Indians stood firm and would NOT be moved.

    One, Vihari, had a torn hamstring. He had to have painkilling injections while playing. At times he could hardly feel his leg. He couldn't even walk, let alone run. So he just stood there and defended whatever the Australians threw at him. He did that, in great pain nonetheless, for almost half a day.

    And at the other end (because two batsmen are always in at the same time), Ashwin had hurt his back so badly his wife (who was on the tour with him) reported that he was reduced to crawling round on their hotel room floor because he couldn't stand up.

    In almost as much pain as Vihari, he also withstood the Australian onslaught for half a day. The next man due in, Jadeja, already had a broken thumb. But in the end he never had to bat.

    And the two don't even speak the same Indian language, though they barely had to talk to each other. Heroism of the Second Kind. The draw felt like a supreme victory, because they hadn't actually lost.

    The Australian captain, Tim Paine, normally quite a good bloke, lost his cool with frustration. While out on the pitch, he said to Ashwin, broadcast to the entire cricketing world on live audio: "At least my teammates like me, dickhead." (An unfair insult. Ashwin is well-liked indeed.) Paine continued, "Can't wait to get you to the Gabba."*

    The Fourth Test, 2-1

    * The Gabba is the cricket ground in Brisbane, Australian's mythical fortress. No visiting team had won there since 1988, before most of the current players were born. With typical dark Australian humor, they call it The Gabbatoir. Because that's where visiting teams get slaughtered.

    The heroes of the Third Test were so badly hurt they couldn't play, so by now India were almost playing with a second (reserve) eleven. The Australian bowlers had between them got over 1,000 batsmen out in tests. The inexperienced Indian bowlers had a tally of just 13. That's a David-and-Goliath statistic. But no-one had told them winning was impossible.

    On the final (fifth) day, India needed 328 to win. That's a HUGE task, achieved very rarely on any final day of any test match, and unheard of at the Gabba. But another hero emerged, Pujara.

    Pujara is like a rock. THE rock. Unmoved, and immovable. He scores runs at a snail's pace, but is extremely hard to get out. And so Pujara set in like winter, remaining there for hours and hours while the Australian bowlers hit him bodily with hard 90 mph balls 11 (eleven) times.

    (Cricket balls can break arms, fingers, jawbones, and occasionally kill. A highly skilled batsman died when hit on the head a few years ago, and an umpire was killed when a cricket ball was accidentally hit directly at him.)

    Pujara probably sustained broken ribs and a broken hand, but stayed right there. He didn't smile, flinched just once, and never said a word. He stood his ground like Gandalf against the Balrog. He didn't score much, but like Ali on the ropes he exhausted the opposition. Heroics of the Third Kind.

    While this was all happening, a young gun aged just 21, Shubman Gill, was batting at the other end like he was in his own backyard having fun. Too young to know what caution meant, and with too much talent to care, he opened up and hit the tired Australian bowlers all round the ground.

    It was an athletic display of elegance, skill, timing, and exhilaration that set the cricketing world dizzy about the next coming superstar. And when Pujara was finally, eventually out, Rishabh Pant, two years older at 23, continued to hit the ball out of the ground again and again and again.

    Pant hit the winning runs himself with 15 minutes to go on the fifth day of the final Test. No-one could believe what had happened, and Pant couldn't either. His voice wavering when interviewed on the podium, he declared it was the finest day of his life. For Gill and Pant together, Heroics of the Fourth Kind.

    And then the quiet, beloved, deputizing captain, Rahane, when awarded the coveted trophy, immediately handed it to one of the youngest members of the team, whose name I can't even remember. Rahane asked the senior players to stand at the back of the team photo, with the heroic youngsters at the front. The kid is probably tightly holding the trophy still.

    At the very end, Rahane gave a gift of a specially embroidered sweater to one of the Australian team members, himself a rather sour-faced loser, who had reached a statistical milestone during the match. No-one was expecting that, and certainly not Lyon, the downcast Australian. It was all captured on television; but for the quiet, kind Rahane, the gesture was sincere.

    Heroics of the Fifth Kind. And that's why maybe a billion Indians were dancing in the streets.



    Mohammed Shami
    , whose father died.

    The last day of the Third Test, the draw that was The Great Escape.




    Rishabh Pant
    , hitting the ball out of the ground.



    Shubman Gill, all graceful class and timing.

    Cheteshwar Pujara, getting hit again and again. And again. AND again.

    Ajinkya Rahane gives Nathan Lyon a special Indian sweater. Some Aussies thought he had to be taking the piss. But the Indians knew their captain better.

    Last edited by Bill Ryan; 22nd January 2021 at 05:17.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    Just as just over half of the American voting population was mourning an inexplicable loss, on the other side of the world three-quarters of the Indian population, over a billion people, were dancing in the streets over an inexplicable win.

    I'm gonna try to make this as interesting as possible, because this is about cricket. And because cricket is so complicated, incredible things really can happen in that world. This was one of them.

    Tens of thousands of words have already been written about this. And there'll be several books, and surely a film.

    Myself, I'm going to title this little essay, Heroism of the Fifth Kind. Wait and see why.

    An international cricket match is called a Test Match, or often, just a 'Test'. (Why this is so, is lost in the mists of cricket history about 150 years ago.)

    What just concluded was a four-Test series between India and Australia, all held in India. And it's VERY hard for anyone to win in Australia against the Australians.

    The First Test: 0-1

    India lost, ignominiously. They scored, between all eleven batsmen, just 36. (The world record test score is 952, and the highest test score by just one batsman alone is 400.) 36 is almost unheard of, the 5th lowest ever team total in 2,400 matches since 1877. It's like a soccer team being beaten 25-0, or Alex Honnold falling off a ladder.

    The pundits tut-tutted sagely and predicted a 4-0 'whitewash' (in cricket, still politically correct). Like Ali vs Foreman, India were on the ropes, looking beaten.

    The Second Test: 1-1

    No real heroics emerged here. But somehow, India played extremely well and won. Everyone lauded them for their surprising fightback, even though the iconic Indian captain and one of the best batsmen in the world, Kohli, had returned home to attend the birth of his child. The captaincy was inherited by Rahane, a very different personality: a quiet man, universally liked and respected, who led his team in a most inspired way.

    The Third Test: 1-1

    The tally didn't change, because it was a draw. But it was a draw for the ages.

    By now the Indian team had already suffered a bizarre sequence of serious injuries, one after another. With everyone away from their families already for months and covid-locked down in hard Australian style, Shami, one of the young team members, learned of the sudden death of his father back home from a heart attack. He stayed with the team in Australia because he was needed: Heroism of the First Kind.

    On the final day (each Test lasts for 5 days), Australia needed to bowl out every one of the Indian team to win. But two of the Indians stood firm and would NOT be moved.

    One, Vihari, had a torn hamstring. He had to have painkilling injections while playing. At times he could hardly feel his leg. He couldn't even walk, let alone run. So he just stood there and defended whatever the Australians threw at him. He did that, in great pain nonetheless, for almost half a day.

    And at the other end (because two batsmen are always in at the same time), Ashwin had hurt his back so badly his wife (who was on the tour with him) reported that he was reduced to crawling round on their hotel room floor because he couldn't stand up.

    In almost as much pain as Vihari, he also withstood the Australian onslaught for half a day. The next man due in, Jadeja, already had a broken thumb. But in the end he never had to bat.

    And the two don't even speak the same Indian language, though they barely had to talk to each other. Heroism of the Second Kind. The draw felt like a supreme victory, because they hadn't actually lost.

    The Australian captain, Tim Paine, normally quite a good bloke, lost his cool with frustration. While out on the pitch, he said to Ashwin, broadcast to the entire cricketing world on live audio: "At least my teammates like me, dickhead." (An unfair insult. Ashwin is well-liked indeed.) Paine continued, "Can't wait to get you to the Gabba."*

    The Fourth Test, 2-1

    * The Gabba is the cricket ground in Brisbane, Australian's mythical fortress. No visiting team had won there since 1988, before most of the current players were born. With typical dark Australian humor, they call it The Gabbatoir. Because that's where visiting teams get slaughtered.

    The heroes of the Third Test were so badly hurt they couldn't play, so by now India were almost playing with a second (reserve) eleven. The Australian bowlers had between them got over 1,000 batsmen out in tests. The inexperienced Indian bowlers had a tally of just 13. That's a David-and-Goliath statistic. But no-one had told them winning was impossible.

    On the final (fifth) day, India needed 328 to win. That's a HUGE task, achieved very rarely on any final day of any test match, and unheard of at the Gabba. But another hero emerged, Pujara.

    Pujara is like a rock. THE rock. Unmoved, and immovable. He scores runs at a snail's pace, but is extremely hard to get out. And so Pujara set in like winter, remaining there for hours and hours while the Australian bowlers hit him bodily with hard 90 mph balls 11 (eleven) times.

    (Cricket balls can break arms, fingers, jawbones, and occasionally kill. A highly skilled batsman died when hit on the head a few years ago, and an umpire was killed when a cricket ball was accidentally hit directly at him.)

    Pujara probably sustained broken ribs and a broken hand, but stayed right there. He didn't smile, flinched just once, and never said a word. He stood his ground like Gandalf against the Balrog. He didn't score much, but like Ali on the ropes he exhausted the opposition. Heroics of the Third Kind.

    While this was all happening, a young gun aged just 21, Shubman Gill, was batting at the other end like he was in his own backyard having fun. Too young to know what caution meant, and with too much talent to care, he opened up and hit the tired Australian bowlers all round the ground.

    It was an athletic display of elegance, skill, timing, and exhilaration that set the cricketing world dizzy about the next coming superstar. And when Pujara was finally, eventually out, Rishabh Pant, two years older at 23, continued to hit the ball out of the ground again and again and again.

    Pant hit the winning runs himself with 15 minutes to go on the fifth day of the final Test. No-one could believe what had happened, and Pant couldn't either. His voice wavering when interviewed on the podium, he declared it was the finest day of his life. For Gill and Pant together, Heroics of the Fourth Kind.

    And then the quiet, beloved, deputizing captain, Rahane, when awarded the coveted trophy, immediately handed it to one of the youngest members of the team, whose name I can't even remember. Rahane asked the senior players to stand at the back of the team photo, with the heroic youngsters at the front. The kid is probably tightly holding the trophy still.

    At the very end, Rahane gave a gift of a specially embroidered sweater to one of the Australian team members, himself a rather sour-faced loser, who had reached a statistical milestone during the match. No-one was expecting that, and certainly not Lyon, the downcast Australian. It was all captured on television; but for the quiet, kind Rahane, the gesture was sincere.

    Heroics of the Fifth Kind. And that's why maybe a billion Indians were dancing in the streets.



    Mohammed Shami
    , whose father died.

    The last day of the Third Test, the draw that was The Great Escape.




    Rishabh Pant
    , hitting the ball out of the ground.



    Shubman Gill, all graceful class and timing.

    Cheteshwar Pujara, getting hit again and again. And again. AND again.

    Ajinkya Rahane gives Nathan Lyon a special Indian sweater. Some Aussies thought he had to be taking the piss. But the Indians knew their captain better.

    THANK YOU BILL!!

    I really needed this!

    I was never interested in cricket and know very little about it. But genuinely enjoyed this tale of the triumph of the warrior spirit and true chivalry.

    Not all hope lost.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    Just as just over half of the American voting population was mourning an inexplicable loss, on the other side of the world three-quarters of the Indian population, over a billion people, were dancing in the streets over an inexplicable win.

    I'm gonna try to make this as interesting as possible, because this is about cricket. And because cricket is so complicated, incredible things really can happen in that world. This was one of them.

    Tens of thousands of words have already been written about this. And there'll be several books, and surely a film.

    Myself, I'm going to title this little essay, Heroism of the Fifth Kind. Wait and see why.

    An international cricket match is called a Test Match, or often, just a 'Test'. (Why this is so, is lost in the mists of cricket history about 150 years ago.)

    What just concluded was a four-Test series between India and Australia, all held in Australia. And it's VERY hard for anyone to win in Australia against the Australians.

    The First Test: 0-1

    India lost, ignominiously. They scored, between all eleven batsmen, just 36. (The world record test score is 952, and the highest test score by just one batsman alone is 400.) 36 is almost unheard of, the 5th lowest ever team total in 2,400 matches since 1877. It's like a soccer team being beaten 25-0, or Alex Honnold falling off a ladder.

    The pundits tut-tutted sagely and predicted a 4-0 'whitewash' (in cricket, still politically correct). Like Ali vs Foreman, India were on the ropes, looking beaten.

    The Second Test: 1-1

    No real heroics emerged here. But somehow, India played extremely well and won. Everyone lauded them for their surprising fightback, even though the iconic Indian captain and one of the best batsmen in the world, Kohli, had returned home to attend the birth of his child. The captaincy was inherited by Rahane, a very different personality: a quiet man, universally liked and respected, who led his team in a most inspired way.

    The Third Test: 1-1

    The tally didn't change, because it was a draw. But it was a draw for the ages.

    By now the Indian team had already suffered a bizarre sequence of serious injuries, one after another. With everyone away from their families already for months and covid-locked down in hard Australian style, Shami, one of the young team members, learned of the sudden death of his father back home from a heart attack. He stayed with the team in Australia because he was needed: Heroism of the First Kind.

    On the final day (each Test lasts for 5 days), Australia needed to bowl out every one of the Indian team to win. But two of the Indians stood firm and would NOT be moved.

    One, Vihari, had a torn hamstring. He had to have painkilling injections while playing. At times he could hardly feel his leg. He couldn't even walk, let alone run. So he just stood there and defended whatever the Australians threw at him. He did that, in great pain nonetheless, for almost half a day.

    And at the other end (because two batsmen are always in at the same time), Ashwin had hurt his back so badly his wife (who was on the tour with him) reported that he was reduced to crawling round on their hotel room floor because he couldn't stand up.

    In almost as much pain as Vihari, he also withstood the Australian onslaught for half a day. The next man due in, Jadeja, already had a broken thumb. But in the end he never had to bat.

    And the two don't even speak the same Indian language, though they barely had to talk to each other. Heroism of the Second Kind. The draw felt like a supreme victory, because they hadn't actually lost.

    The Australian captain, Tim Paine, normally quite a good bloke, lost his cool with frustration. While out on the pitch, he said to Ashwin, broadcast to the entire cricketing world on live audio: "At least my teammates like me, dickhead." (An unfair insult. Ashwin is well-liked indeed.) Paine continued, "Can't wait to get you to the Gabba."*

    The Fourth Test, 2-1

    * The Gabba is the cricket ground in Brisbane, Australian's mythical fortress. No visiting team had won there since 1988, before most of the current players were born. With typical dark Australian humor, they call it The Gabbatoir. Because that's where visiting teams get slaughtered.

    The heroes of the Third Test were so badly hurt they couldn't play, so by now India were almost playing with a second (reserve) eleven. The Australian bowlers had between them got over 1,000 batsmen out in tests. The inexperienced Indian bowlers had a tally of just 13. That's a David-and-Goliath statistic. But no-one had told them winning was impossible.

    On the final (fifth) day, India needed 328 to win. That's a HUGE task, achieved very rarely on any final day of any test match, and unheard of at the Gabba. But another hero emerged, Pujara.

    Pujara is like a rock. THE rock. Unmoved, and immovable. He scores runs at a snail's pace, but is extremely hard to get out. And so Pujara set in like winter, remaining there for hours and hours while the Australian bowlers hit him bodily with hard 90 mph balls 11 (eleven) times.

    (Cricket balls can break arms, fingers, jawbones, and occasionally kill. A highly skilled batsman died when hit on the head a few years ago, and an umpire was killed when a cricket ball was accidentally hit directly at him.)

    Pujara probably sustained broken ribs and a broken hand, but stayed right there. He didn't smile, flinched just once, and never said a word. He stood his ground like Gandalf against the Balrog. He didn't score much, but like Ali on the ropes he exhausted the opposition. Heroics of the Third Kind.

    While this was all happening, a young gun aged just 21, Shubman Gill, was batting at the other end like he was in his own backyard having fun. Too young to know what caution meant, and with too much talent to care, he opened up and hit the tired Australian bowlers all round the ground.

    It was an athletic display of elegance, skill, timing, and exhilaration that set the cricketing world dizzy about the next coming superstar. And when Pujara was finally, eventually out, Rishabh Pant, two years older at 23, continued to hit the ball out of the ground again and again and again.

    Pant hit the winning runs himself with 15 minutes to go on the fifth day of the final Test. No-one could believe what had happened, and Pant couldn't either. His voice wavering when interviewed on the podium, he declared it was the finest day of his life. For Gill and Pant together, Heroics of the Fourth Kind.

    And then the quiet, beloved, deputizing captain, Rahane, when awarded the coveted trophy, immediately handed it to one of the youngest members of the team, whose name I can't even remember. Rahane asked the senior players to stand at the back of the team photo, with the heroic youngsters at the front. The kid is probably tightly holding the trophy still.

    At the very end, Rahane gave a gift of a specially embroidered sweater to one of the Australian team members, himself a rather sour-faced loser, who had reached a statistical milestone during the match. No-one was expecting that, and certainly not Lyon, the downcast Australian. It was all captured on television; but for the quiet, kind Rahane, the gesture was sincere.

    Heroics of the Fifth Kind. And that's why maybe a billion Indians were dancing in the streets.



    Mohammed Shami
    , whose father died.

    The last day of the Third Test, the draw that was The Great Escape.




    Rishabh Pant
    , hitting the ball out of the ground.



    Shubman Gill, all graceful class and timing.

    Cheteshwar Pujara, getting hit again and again. And again. AND again.

    Ajinkya Rahane gives Nathan Lyon a special Indian sweater. Some Aussies thought he had to be taking the piss. But the Indians knew their captain better.

    Series like this tour are what make the game of Cricket so incredible. It is a sport where the build up to rapture takes days, weeks or months to arrive at one crucial moment.....

    .....and the bowler runs in.....
    Last edited by safara; 22nd January 2021 at 07:50.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    From last November, but I have just found this thread

    The incredible strenght of modern open topped racing cars that can punch THROUGH a barrier and the driver walks away. The tradegy of the death of Bianchi in 2015 paved the way for saving Grosjean in this crash.

    And sitting in the flames for 28 seconds before he figured a way out!





    Last edited by safara; 22nd January 2021 at 07:59.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    . . . . .
    Last edited by Bluegreen; 9th February 2021 at 05:27.

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    Administrator Mark (Star Mariner)'s Avatar
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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Take it you're not a fan of Tom, Bluegreen?

    When I worked in the US back in the 90s I was based in Tampa. So the Buccaneers pretty much became my adopted team. Sorry Blue, but for the big game against the Packers tonight, all I can say is Go Bucs!!

    Go get that seventh ring Tom!!

    "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
    ~ Jimi Hendrix

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    Just as just over half of the American voting population was mourning an inexplicable loss, on the other side of the world three-quarters of the Indian population, over a billion people, were dancing in the streets over an inexplicable win.

    I'm gonna try to make this as interesting as possible, because this is about cricket. And because cricket is so complicated, incredible things really can happen in that world. This was one of them.

    Tens of thousands of words have already been written about this. And there'll be several books, and surely a film.

    Myself, I'm going to title this little essay, Heroism of the Fifth Kind. Wait and see why.

    An international cricket match is called a Test Match, or often, just a 'Test'. (Why this is so, is lost in the mists of cricket history about 150 years ago.)

    What just concluded was a four-Test series between India and Australia, all held in Australia. And it's VERY hard for anyone to win in Australia against the Australians.

    The First Test: 0-1

    India lost, ignominiously. They scored, between all eleven batsmen, just 36. (The world record test score is 952, and the highest test score by just one batsman alone is 400.) 36 is almost unheard of, the 5th lowest ever team total in 2,400 matches since 1877. It's like a soccer team being beaten 25-0, or Alex Honnold falling off a ladder.

    The pundits tut-tutted sagely and predicted a 4-0 'whitewash' (in cricket, still politically correct). Like Ali vs Foreman, India were on the ropes, looking beaten.

    The Second Test: 1-1

    No real heroics emerged here. But somehow, India played extremely well and won. Everyone lauded them for their surprising fightback, even though the iconic Indian captain and one of the best batsmen in the world, Kohli, had returned home to attend the birth of his child. The captaincy was inherited by Rahane, a very different personality: a quiet man, universally liked and respected, who led his team in a most inspired way.

    The Third Test: 1-1

    The tally didn't change, because it was a draw. But it was a draw for the ages.

    By now the Indian team had already suffered a bizarre sequence of serious injuries, one after another. With everyone away from their families already for months and covid-locked down in hard Australian style, Shami, one of the young team members, learned of the sudden death of his father back home from a heart attack. He stayed with the team in Australia because he was needed: Heroism of the First Kind.

    On the final day (each Test lasts for 5 days), Australia needed to bowl out every one of the Indian team to win. But two of the Indians stood firm and would NOT be moved.

    One, Vihari, had a torn hamstring. He had to have painkilling injections while playing. At times he could hardly feel his leg. He couldn't even walk, let alone run. So he just stood there and defended whatever the Australians threw at him. He did that, in great pain nonetheless, for almost half a day.

    And at the other end (because two batsmen are always in at the same time), Ashwin had hurt his back so badly his wife (who was on the tour with him) reported that he was reduced to crawling round on their hotel room floor because he couldn't stand up.

    In almost as much pain as Vihari, he also withstood the Australian onslaught for half a day. The next man due in, Jadeja, already had a broken thumb. But in the end he never had to bat.

    And the two don't even speak the same Indian language, though they barely had to talk to each other. Heroism of the Second Kind. The draw felt like a supreme victory, because they hadn't actually lost.

    The Australian captain, Tim Paine, normally quite a good bloke, lost his cool with frustration. While out on the pitch, he said to Ashwin, broadcast to the entire cricketing world on live audio: "At least my teammates like me, dickhead." (An unfair insult. Ashwin is well-liked indeed.) Paine continued, "Can't wait to get you to the Gabba."*

    The Fourth Test, 2-1

    * The Gabba is the cricket ground in Brisbane, Australian's mythical fortress. No visiting team had won there since 1988, before most of the current players were born. With typical dark Australian humor, they call it The Gabbatoir. Because that's where visiting teams get slaughtered.

    The heroes of the Third Test were so badly hurt they couldn't play, so by now India were almost playing with a second (reserve) eleven. The Australian bowlers had between them got over 1,000 batsmen out in tests. The inexperienced Indian bowlers had a tally of just 13. That's a David-and-Goliath statistic. But no-one had told them winning was impossible.

    On the final (fifth) day, India needed 328 to win. That's a HUGE task, achieved very rarely on any final day of any test match, and unheard of at the Gabba. But another hero emerged, Pujara.

    Pujara is like a rock. THE rock. Unmoved, and immovable. He scores runs at a snail's pace, but is extremely hard to get out. And so Pujara set in like winter, remaining there for hours and hours while the Australian bowlers hit him bodily with hard 90 mph balls 11 (eleven) times.

    (Cricket balls can break arms, fingers, jawbones, and occasionally kill. A highly skilled batsman died when hit on the head a few years ago, and an umpire was killed when a cricket ball was accidentally hit directly at him.)

    Pujara probably sustained broken ribs and a broken hand, but stayed right there. He didn't smile, flinched just once, and never said a word. He stood his ground like Gandalf against the Balrog. He didn't score much, but like Ali on the ropes he exhausted the opposition. Heroics of the Third Kind.

    While this was all happening, a young gun aged just 21, Shubman Gill, was batting at the other end like he was in his own backyard having fun. Too young to know what caution meant, and with too much talent to care, he opened up and hit the tired Australian bowlers all round the ground.

    It was an athletic display of elegance, skill, timing, and exhilaration that set the cricketing world dizzy about the next coming superstar. And when Pujara was finally, eventually out, Rishabh Pant, two years older at 23, continued to hit the ball out of the ground again and again and again.

    Pant hit the winning runs himself with 15 minutes to go on the fifth day of the final Test. No-one could believe what had happened, and Pant couldn't either. His voice wavering when interviewed on the podium, he declared it was the finest day of his life. For Gill and Pant together, Heroics of the Fourth Kind.

    And then the quiet, beloved, deputizing captain, Rahane, when awarded the coveted trophy, immediately handed it to one of the youngest members of the team, whose name I can't even remember. Rahane asked the senior players to stand at the back of the team photo, with the heroic youngsters at the front. The kid is probably tightly holding the trophy still.

    At the very end, Rahane gave a gift of a specially embroidered sweater to one of the Australian team members, himself a rather sour-faced loser, who had reached a statistical milestone during the match. No-one was expecting that, and certainly not Lyon, the downcast Australian. It was all captured on television; but for the quiet, kind Rahane, the gesture was sincere.

    Heroics of the Fifth Kind. And that's why maybe a billion Indians were dancing in the streets.


    Shubman Gill, all graceful class and timing.

    Cheteshwar Pujara, getting hit again and again. And again. AND again.

    Ajinkya Rahane gives Nathan Lyon a special Indian sweater. Some Aussies thought he had to be taking the piss. But the Indians knew their captain better.

    Well written Bill, and the fourth test was indeed a true 'Where were you when' game.

    One of the best test matches I've ever seen.

    Specially because of the chauvinist Australian commentators. Shane Waugh was really unbelievable. At the start of day 5 of the third test he said something like: "We'll be home by lunch, I suppose", and he had the same attitude towards India during day 5 of the 4th test, getting quieter and quieter towards the end.
    You Can't Talk and Listen at the Same Time

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Quote Posted by Star Mariner (here)
    Go get that seventh ring Tom!!
    When I get back from throwing up I'm flagging your post.
    Today is victory over yourself of yesterday. Tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    And then the quiet, beloved, deputizing captain, Rahane, when awarded the coveted trophy, immediately handed it to one of the youngest members of the team, whose name I can't even remember. Rahane asked the senior players to stand at the back of the team photo, with the heroic youngsters at the front. The kid is probably tightly holding the trophy still.
    A little more on this, all about the Indian cricket team's superlative victory over the arrogant Australians, apparently against all odds.

    The young guy who Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane had handed the trophy to was Thangarasu Natarajan. There's a wonderful article about this here. I'll abbreviate it... but it's lovely stuff.

    ~~~

    "I'm so happy right now. There's no limit to it and I just can't explain that feeling."

    This was Natarajan's reaction to his rousing reception at his hometown Chinnappampatti, near Salem in Tamil Nadu, after returning from Australia, where he made his debut in all three formats and played his part in the historic Gabba Test win.

    Natarajan, who had driven down from Bengaluru to Chinnappampatti on Thursday, was greeted by hoardings, drumrolls and firecrackers. After being welcomed back by his mother Shantha, his father Thangarasu and other family members, Natarajan was carried home on a horse-drawn chariot, with everyone in Chinnappampatti wanting a piece of him.

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1352276624650153985


    Last edited by Bill Ryan; 25th January 2021 at 08:27.

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    Default Re: All Sports All The Time

    And some more astonishing heroics from the Indian Subcontinent. This happened on 17 January, but I was so engrossed in the US election (and the cricket!) I never realized this had happened till a couple days ago.

    Many reading this may know that K2, the world's second highest mountain, just a little lower than Everest, is by far the most difficult, dangerous and deadly of all the Himalayan high mountains. Compared to K2, Everest is an easy piece of cake.

    All the highest mountains in the Himalayas had been climbed in winter, which of course makes everything fiercely more challenging for every reason it's easy to imagine — except for K2.

    For decades now, the world's finest mountaineers — Messner, Habeler, Kammerlander, Kukuczka, Viesturs, many many others — all failed.

    But last week, it was climbed, in winter, by a team of Nepalese Sherpas. All on their own.

    No western climbers were in their team, which was totally self-organized and self-funded. One of them didn't even use extra oxygen. It was an extraordinary feat.

    For generations, Sherpas have been the heavy lifters, and the cooks and bottlewashers in the camps. They have always done all the most dangerous work.

    And any western mountaineer with any integrity knows that 95% of the time, the Sherpas are the ones that make expeditions successful. But they've often been treated as inferiors, get little pay, are sometimes treated pretty badly, and occasionally the dark shadow of racism is present.

    So now, they have their own victory. Not over an opposing team, but over a viciously dangerous mountain.... which mountaineers call THE mountain. And IN WINTER. Go figure.

    Here's Nirmal Purja, who organized the entire thing, at the summit looking like he's just been taking his dog for a walk in the snow. And no oxygen mask..... he didn't even need one.

    Last edited by Bill Ryan; 11th February 2021 at 17:06.

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