In other news...
Humour and sensationalism can never be substitutes for good writing. This truth was reiterated recently in two pieces on cricket in Rediff.

While Sriram Ranganathan thought that mocking at Australia by calling them whatever he feels like after one test defeat will earn him good audience, Salil Kumar chose the less-sensational path of reminding us all that at the end of the day cricket is just a game.

The latter's writing is worth reflecting upon for it lends a sense of balance while the former's writing reminds me of what Rajaji once reportedly commented about a fellow speaker -

"..(his speech was) a diarrhoea of words and a constipation of thoughts!"

Full of senseless criticism and personal attacks, most parts of the article can be dismissed as sheer rubbish. I hope not many future writers would get inspired by this kind of writing style.

Thankfully, rediff had a disclaimer at the end of the article. So much, for guest writers!

Rumsfeld's tough-talking recognized..
So it is not just me..

I talked a bit about the special skills that US Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld possessed when it comes to public speaking!

And I thought it would go unnoticed - but no!

Somebody has recognized it and given him an award.

Other recipients of the awards include California governor elect Arnold Schwarzenegger! :-)

Macgill on Sachin..
Dear Mr. Macgill,
Now that you have said this, you should better check on what another spinner from your land has to say about Sachin.

And while you do that, bear in mind -
1. It is quite a debate the world over on whether Shane Warne is *the best spinner ever* in cricketing history.
1a. I have not heard anything even remotely close to that about one Mr. Stuart Macgill. Rather, I am mostly left wondering what Channel Nine commentators get out of hyping Macgill up - inspite of having seen someone like Warne. Maybe they have a flair for advertisement!
2. Shane Warne has played(bowled to) Sachin Tendulkar in 11 test matches spanning over 4 seasons. The whole world watched the clash and the results are well known. Not to say anything about the one-day clashes in Sharjah!
2a. Stuart Macgill made it to the India Tour once and played ONE tour game. Maybe the Australian think tank thought he was too good a talent to waste on Sachin Tendulkar in Test Matches.

So, I do know all of the above facts. And knowing all this, you know what I think about your recent talk.

If you had said all that you have said after returning figures atleast as good as those of Warne's against Tendulkar, I would have let it go!