Top 10 Sporting Moments of 2008

What a year it has been. A feast of excesses for the sporting fan. Most years we could struggle to make a top 10 list and this year events from other years' lists would struggle to get in. There were the spectacular Chinese Olympics to cap the year off but sports outside held their own, from golf and tennis to Formula 1 and cricket. Big Brown almost nipped the triple crown, IPL was born in cricket, Tampa Bay reached the world series despite never having a winning record and the US finally stormed the Ryder Cup of Golf. But none of these made the top 10. Here is the list of the top 10 moments as I saw them:

10. Greg Norman blows up at the British Open









It was reminiscent of the 1986 Masters that Nicklaus won at the age of 46. Except Norman was 53 now and led by 2 strokes going into the final round- and in true Norman fashion (1 for 7 when he led a major after 3 rounds) he blew up, opening with 3 bogies to relinquish the lead and then finishing with a round of 77 (winner Harrington scored a 69). But for three rounds he had everyone awake defying the wind and rains at Royal Birkdale. For three rounds he had everyone shaking their heads with smiles on their faces. For three rounds he had everyone loving the sport.

9. Celtics beat the Lakers








The most storied basketball rivalry in history (even with its own video game) was revived this year as the Celtics beat the Lakers 4-2 in the NBA finals. Together the two teams have won 31 out of the 62 NBA championships ever contended for but there hadn't been the same rivalry since Bird and Magic. This year they met up with more than the world championship at stake. Lakers coach Phil Jackson was going for his 10th championship, which would have overtaken the legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach on the all time list. Looks like it gave the Celtics that added incentive.

8. Defeat of Australian Cricket








Most non-Australians were looking forward to seeing the cockiness drain out of the Australian faces but when the moment came it turned out to be an anti-climax. It was always going to be difficult to replace the likes of Warne and McGrath, but within the frame of 2 series Australia lost to India away and now to South Africa at home. After a dominance of more than a decade there seems to be little the Australians can do to stem their decline.

7. Manchester United Double









This is a photo of John Terry of Chelsea taking the 10th and what was supposed to be the final penalty kick after the game was tied 1-1 after extra time. Had he scored, Chelsea would have won the Champions League- but he slipped and hit it wide while Van der Sar dived the wrong way, giving Manchester United a memorable Premier League and Champions League double.

6. Lewis Hamilton wins the F1 crown on the last lap








After 18 races the entire championship came down to a pass Hamilton made on the final bend of the final race (article) for the closest finish in the 58 year history of Formula 1. There was such confusion that both Hamilton's Mclaren and Massa's Ferrari garages rushed out in jubilation to celebrate their victories- only for the Ferrari people to realize they had been beat. Car racing mad Britain got its first F1 champion in 12 years.

5. Spain finally wins Euro 2008








Spain have always played creative and attacking football that is pleasing for the eye but had failed to win any silverware for 44 years. Boring defensive teams like Italy and Germany (not anymore) used to win but flair artists like Holland and Spain did not. Well they finally came through, with players like Torres, Alonso, Fabergas, Xavi, Villa and Casillas, beating Germany 1-0 in the final.

4. Rafa Nadal wins Wimbledon










John McEnroe called it the best Wimbledon final he has seen. Some praise since the Borg-McEnroe final is the only other one that would have been in contention. Nadal had thrashed Federer in the French Open final weeks earlier and most of us were expecting order to be restored. Instead Nadal came out all guns blazing and won the first two sets. Federer came back by winning set 3 and 4 in tie breaks (10-8 in the 4th). Nadal let 2 match points go in the fourth. Was his moment gone? In near darkness, at 9:15 at night, Nadal won the 5th set 9-7. A well deserved victory that also ended Federer's 65 match, 6 year winning streak on grass. By the end of 2008, Nadal had his fourth French Open title, a Wimbledon crown, the Olympic gold medal and the men's number 1 ranking as well.

3. Tiger gets a leg up in the US Open












He only seemed to wince when his shots went wrong. Surely, he was milking the injury, even if he had one. Showmanship notwithstanding, the caliber of the game was outstanding. First, he had to birdie the 72nd and last hole of regular play to make the 18 hole play-off with Rocco Mediate. On Monday he had to birdie the same hole again to extend his challenge to extra holes, before he won on the 91st hole. Oh, and any doubts about faking the injury were removed the next day when he announced he would have a fourth surgery on his left knee and also rehabilitate from the double stress fracture in his left tibia. Oops, guess he was in pain then.

2. Phelp's eight golds









It is easy to forget how close Phelps was to not achieving the magic 8 gold medals, not once but twice. In the 4X100m relay, Phelps team mate Jason Lezak touched the water half a second behind world record holder Alain Bernard of France and then out swam Bernard by 0.08 seconds by finishing his leg in an incredible 46.06 seconds (The world record for 100m is 47.05 and relay times don't qualify). Then in the 100m butterfly, he was trailing at the end and took an extra half stroke at the finish to pip Milorad Cavic of Serbia by 0.01 seconds. In all, he won 8 gold medals, broke 7 world records, and an Olympic record.


1. Usain Bolt's double










Running the fastest 100m by any human being ever, while slowing down in the last 20m by thumping your chest in celebration, with the left shoe laces open. If that doesn't take the crown of the best sporting achievement, what does? Well, you could double up by breaking the 12 year old 200m world record that many thought was unbreakable. And then just for good measure, win the gold in the 100m relay with a world record as well. Phelps may have the bigger achievement, but Bolt captured the biggest moment of 2008.

What it takes to be a Tiger! - the best print ad campaign

There is nothing exciting about going through an airport security line, especially if you happen to be Pakistani like me. Except... maybe Heathrow. Over the last few years every time I line up for the security check at Heathrow I have been captivated by the Tiger Woods theme print ads by Accenture, the consulting company.

The ads compare Wood's ability on the golf course to the traits of leading businesses, from foresight and preparation to flexibility on changing circumstances. The company claims that the campaign is based on a three year research program which analyzed thousands of companies worldwide to find the traits of high-performing companies. The arresting feature of the ads however, are the powerful visuals and the matching phrases attached to them.

Here are some examples I could find:

Obama's Debt to Sports!

"She was there to see the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can."

So spoke Barak Obama about the 106 year old Ann Nixon Cooper last week in his acceptance speech. Yes they have come a long way and yes, there is hope now and everyone (outside the red states at least) seems to be happy. But before the halo on his head disappears, before the euphoria wanes, before it gets back to politics as usual, I want to take a moment and acknowledge Obama's debt to sports- yes you heard me right- to sports.

There was a time in America not long before Obama was born where not only life for African Americans was segregated, so were there aspirations and heroes. That seems to have changed over the last few decades and I would argue sports has had a bigger role in that transformation than almost any other single factor. Of course, the guy writing the sports blog will say that, I hear you thinking. But allow me to elaborate....

The most successful black political figure in America over the last hundred years or so has been Martin Luther King. Was he really successful in impacting the majority white view on blacks? Not really. Take sports starts on the other hand and you will see where I'm going with this argument.

Exactly 25 years before Obama's birth, the great American athlete Jesse Owens was running past white Germans to get the US national anthem played in a Berlin stadium. Hitler famously refused to shake Owens hand after his victory but then neither did FDR when Owen got back to America. This winner of four gold medals was reduced to novelty shows like racing thoroughbred horses to make a living.

Talking of beating Germans, there was the boxer Joe Louis who saved American pride again by flooring the German world champion Max Schmeling in just over two minutes in the ring. Louis later joined the army to fight for his country in World War II. The army he joined was segregated and when quizzed about it he is said to have remarked "Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them."

The third great black American athlete of that era was baseball player Jackie Robinson. He was reviled nearly everywhere he went but now April 15 of every year is Jackie Robinson day and all major league baseball players, black and white, wear Robinson's number 42 jersey as a sign of respect.

These three athletes took the brunt of American injustice, but came out shining due to the inherent objectivity of sports. In the process, they also softened the perceptions of African Americans for coming generations of Americans. More importantly, they provided black athletes like Muhammad Ali the pulpit to share their views and opinions. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, the hall of fame basketball player, started bridging the perception gap, Michael Jordan converted it into commercial success and Tiger Woods perfected it. Swoosh was the sound of dollar bills being hoovered into their bank accounts, but it was also the sound of the colour barrier coming down.

Yes, Barak Obama stands tall, but partly because he stands on the shoulders of giants- giant athletes!

The Fiercest Rivalries in Sport

Borg vs McEnroe, Spurs vs Arsenal, Palmer vs Nicklaus, Federer vs Nadal, Michigan vs Ohio State, Lakers vs Celtics, the list of great rivalries is endless. Few things fascinate and engage the followers of sport as much as a great rivalry. It is often the yardstick by which greatness is measured. Six time world champion and Olympic gold medalist Sergei Bubka broke the world record 35 times and was the greatest pole vaulter of all time, but he never captured the popular imagination because no one came close to challenging him. There is some base human desire that gets enthralled by duels, whether lion vs slave at the Colosseum, or Federer vs Nadal at Wimbledon.

So the natural curiosity, given my predilection for lists and rankings, was to figure out the fiercest rivalries in sport. As subjective as which cheese tastes the best, but an interesting exercise nevertheless. To have some quantum of objectiveness, its divided into three un-mixable sections; individual rivalry, club rivalry and national rivalry. Here are the top 3 in each category:

Individual Rivalries
Number 3 for Individuals- Navratilova vs Evert













Rivalries last a few matches or a few years but very few individual rivalries last 14 years at the top level (from Evert's win in Italian Open final in May 1974 to Navratilova's win in Virginia slims final in Nov 1988 they faced off in 60 finals). The life time record of the two was 43-37 in favour of Navratilova, but most of Evert's losses came towards the end of her career. The dominance of the two was such that between 1982 and 1986, the pair won 18 out of 19 grand slams between them. Evert won 90% of all her matches. Navratilova had the longest winning streak of 74 consecutive matches. Evert has 157 singles titles, Navratilova has 167. Evert has 18 single major titles, Navratilova has 18 as well (best male tennis player of all time has 14). Despite the rivalry they grew close and Navratilova even introduced Evert to her second husband Andy Mills. Fittingly, when Evert hosted Saturday Night Live in 1989, in the kick-off skit a Navratilova character showed up everywhere Evert was and outdid her at whatever she was doing. Their rivalry was intense, but always remained civil.

Number 2 for Individuals- Prost vs Senna
There are fierce rivalries and there are bitter rivalries but this one was fiercely bitter. Formula 1 racing is one of the most dangerous sports to start with but you know its getting personal when drivers start banging their cars into each other just to take their opponent out. This was the duel between the fire of Senna and the ice of Prost. In 1989 in the second to last race of the season in Suzuka, Prost drove into his team mate Senna, taking them both out of the race and in the process winning the drivers' championship. The next year Senna got even by driving into Prost at 190 mph on the very first turn of the same track and winning the championship. Honours even but the rivalry had turned bitter forever. When Prost Joined the Williams team in 1993, he had a clause inserted in his contract that prevented Senna from being his team mate that year. Later at the Interlagos circuit, Prost had to have a police escort, he was so reviled in Brazil. When he couldn't prevent Senna from joining Williams the following year, he chose to retire rather than be his team mate. By the end, Senna won 41 races with 65 pole positions and 3 championships while Prost won 51 races with 33 pole positions and 4 championships. Both have a legitimate claim to be the all time great of their sport. Unfortunately Senna died in a car crash at the Imola circuit in 1994. He had told a friend he realized after Prost's retirement how much of his motivation had come from competing against Prost. One million people showed up to Senna's funeral in Sao Paolo. Alain Prost was one of the pall bearers.

Number 1 for Individuals- Ali vs Frazier
"It's gonna be a chilla, and a killa, and a thrilla, when I get the gorilla in Manilla". While Muhammad Ali entertained the world with his psuedo-rap, smacking a rubber gorilla in his hands, such words really got under Frazier's skin. He never forgave Ali for calling him "uncle tom" and the "white man's champion" prior to their first fight. What is not widely known is that Frazier had helped Ali through his boxing ban for refusing to serve in Vietnam by showing up at tribunal hearings in support and had even given Ali hundreds of dollars in cash to support him. Ali maintained that he said all these things to promote the fight but Frazier did not buy that and felt deeply betrayed. Their rivalry would become one of the most storied of all time and they would fight each other three times over their careers. Known as "the fight of the century", the first fight took place at Madison square Garden in 1971. Frazier had a 26-0 record with 23 KO's. Ali had a 31-0 record with 25 KO's. The fight also came to symbolize the anti-establishment camp in Ali and the pro-War movement in Frazier. Frazier won by unanimous decision after 15 rounds, but Ali gained respect for recovering from a 15th round knock down to finish a fight he had no chance of winning. Both fighters spent time in the hospital after the fight. Ali-Frazier II was also at Madison Square Garden in 1974. By this time Frazier had been demolished by Foreman so it was no longer a title contest, but the hostility between the two was still palpable. Promoting the fight on TV, both were reviewing their first fight when an argument led to a fist fight on the set and a fine for both boxers. In the ring later, Ali came away the winner by unanimous decision after twelve rounds. In October of 1975, the last and perhaps the best fight between the two took place, popularly known as "the thrilla in Manilla". Ali had beaten Foreman, Norton and Wepner since his last fight with Frazier and was riding high in confidence. He prepared lightly and was distracted by his torrid affair with Veronica Porche. Frazier on the other hand was seething with revenge and always managed to save his best for Ali. In the fight, Ali started strong but faded in the middle rounds and Frazier started punishing him. Legend has it that around the 6th round Ali whispered in Frazier's ear: "Joe, they told me you was all washed up" and Frazier barked back, "they lied" and followed it with a left upper cut. However, Frazier grew tired by the 10th and Ali managed to get enough jabs in that both Frazier's eyes swelled up. We would later find out that Frazier had a cataract in his left eye so was fighting almost blind for the last three rounds. Ali made it a one sided fight in the 14th round and Frazier's trainer Eddie Futch stopped the fight after the round, despite much protesting from his fighter. Author David Halberstam summed it up best: "the only way we know of Ali's greatness is because of Frazier's equivalent greatness, that in the end there was no real difference between the two of them as fighters."

Did not make the top 3: Borg vs McEnroe, Sampras vs Agassi, Federer vs Nadal, Palmer vs Nicklaus, Alydar vs Affirmed, Ted Williams vs Joe DiMaggio, Magic vs Bird, Jahangir vs Jansher, Imran vs Hadlee, Tendulkar vs Lara, Schumacher vs Hakkinen, Jeff Gordon vs Dale Earnhardt, Wilt Chamberlin vs Bill Russell, Hagler vs Hearns, Duran vs Leonard and Gretzky vs Lemieux.

Club Rivalries
Number 3 for Club Sports- Boston Redsox vs NY Yankees
The Redsox and Yankees have an embittered and fierce rivalry of over 100 years that is often referred to in America as "the greatest rivalry in sports". After Babe Ruth was traded to the Yankees in 1919, the Bosox were said to suffer from "the curse of the Bambino"- they failed to win a world series for the next 86 years, while the Yankees gathered 26 of them. It all changed in 2004 when Boston finally overcame NY and went on to win the world series- and then won it again in 2007. The Yankees haven't won since 2000.

Number 2 for Club Sports- Boca Juniors vs River Plate













Both teams are from Buenos Aires and matches between them are known as the "superclasico". Boca has a more working class following while River Plate has a more affluent fan base. One of Boca's stands is entirely of stacked boxes (called La "bonbonera" or chocolate box) while River Plate followers are called "Los Millionarios". The match thus adds an element of the class divide as well. There is huge following of the two clubs in the whole of Latin America and when the Observer newspaper made a list of "50 sporting things you must do before you die", watching a "superclasico" in Buenos Aires was top of the list.

Number 1 for Club Sports- Celtic vs Rangers

There are 12 clubs that play football in the Scottish Premier League but only two that have ever won it. The Celtic-Rangers rivalry goes back to 1888 and the two teams are such a world apart, they even have a special name of their own: "the old firm". Religion, politics and social attitudes are all involved in old firm derbies, where the mostly Irish and Catholic supporters of Celtic are pitted against protestant republican followers of Rangers. There has been unfortunate instances of sectarian violence ensuing after games between the clubs. The rivalry is so fierce that only five players have ever moved between the two clubs in almost a hundred years. A study said admissions to hospital emergency rooms increases nine-fold over normal days on old firm match day weekends. It easily makes Celtic vs Rangers the most fiercely contested rivalry in all club sports.

Did not make the top 3: Redskins vs Cowboys, Ohio State vs Michigan, Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce, Inter Milan vs AC Milan, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Arsenal vs Spurs, ManU vs Liverpool, Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos, Oxford vs Cambridge Crew, Boston Celtics vs Lakers, Notre Dame vs USC, Ferrari vs McLaren, Dinamo Zagreb vs Red Star Belgrade, Maple Leafs vs Canadiens.

Country Rivalries
Number 3 for National teams- America vs Europe in Golf's Ryder Cup
This rivalry has a relatively short history but the passion involved, including bitterness at fans behaviour towards players, is intense. The gamesmanship, the patriotism it espouses, the drama, the ridiculous outfits of the spouses, and some exceptional golf has made this biennial event one of the most anticipated sports event watched across the world. The score line is 8-7 in favour of the Europeans since it became Europe vs USA in 1979 and the intensity can be judged by the fact that there is always some bitterness voiced by the losing team. From walking across putting lines to prank calls in the middle of the night for opponents, its all been done in the Ryder Cup.

Number 2 for National teams- Brazil vs Argentina in football
Some of the best footballers in the world are from the the two countries. Between them they have won the world cup seven times. Brazil have won the World Cup 5 times and the Copa America 8 times, while Argentina have won the World Cup 2 times and the Copa America 14 times. Their close rivalry is reflected in their 35-34 record in favour of Brazil since their first match in 1914. Another dimension to the rivalry is often lent by the two players mentioned most for the title of greatest player of all time- Pele and Maradonna. In 1946 there were instances of broken legs during two consecutive games, which resulted in an abandoned game and fighting on the pitch with police. In the 1990 World Cup, Brazilians accused the Argentinian coaches of giving one of them water laced with tranquilizers (known as the "holy water scandal"). The amount of football passion involved makes any international meet between the two countries an all consuming affair for the fans.

Number 1 for National teams- India vs Pakistan in Cricket
Three wars in 60 years coupled with the religious fervour of cricket in the national psyche, provides for combustible ingredients for a passionate rivalry. Very few places in the world does sport, politics and religion mix in such a portent way. Traffic vanishes from the roads in the two countries of over a billion people when India play Pakistan. In a previous trip to Pakistan during the World Cup, all TV sets and electricity generators were sold out in the market in anticipation of the cricket match. While the rivalry is statistically tilted in Pakistan's favour (leading Tests 12-9 and ODI's 68-45), India have managed to win all the World Cup encounters so far and also won the inaugural Twenty20 tournament by narrowly beating none other than Pakistan in the final. In 1986, Javed Miandad hit a last ball six for an improbable come from behind victory that lead to souring of cricket relations for a decade. The 1991 Pakistan tour of India had to be canceled because youths from the local extremist party Shiv Sena party dug up the pitch at Bombay's Wankhade stadium. In 1999, with Pakistan ready to tour India for the first time in 12 years, Shiv Senna dug up the pitch at Delhi again but it was repaired in time. The Asian Test Championship match against India had to be finished in the eerie silence of an empty stadium after the 90,000 crowd at Eden Gardens Calcutta invaded the pitch as India inched towards certain defeat. And for all the mighty victories, Pakistan has never been able to top India when it's mattered most, in a World Cup. After one defeat to India in a World Cup, the Pakistani players had to go in hiding and father of ace bowler Wasim Akram was kidnapped by enraged fans. It often doesn't take much for this sibling rivalry to rise to the level of sheer lunacy.

Did not make the top 3: England vs Australia Ashes, USA vs USSR Ice Hockey, England vs Germany football, Australia vs USA swimming.

10 Famous Sports Celebrations

Long before the TV is turned on and the spectacle of sport is broadcast around the world, long before the ball boys show up, the grass is cut, the lines drawn or the referees show up, there is sheer hard work by the athletes. Miles are run, hills are climbed, weights are lifted, balls are hit and putts are practiced over and over and over again. Almost all the great athletes we cheer for these days have done little else for every single day of their adult lives except for practice their sport. The days of being a carpenter for your day job and hitting boundaries at the weekend at Lords are long gone. When such hard work results in success on the playing field, sometimes the celebration is spontaneous and ecstatic. Yet at other times, celebration has become tradition and as much a part of winning as playing the game. Here are a few of my favourite and while photographs might not do them justice, it was not possible to source videos for all of them.















"Rock the baby" celebration. Introduced in the 1992 Football world cup by Babeto of Brazil, the original celebration was probably meant to celebrate his impending child. It has since become mandatory for any expecting father scoring a goal.























"The Dunk" was first performed as a revenge act by NY Giants defensemen to legendary coach Bill Parcels in the 1980s, for the previous weeks training woes. It has become the ultimate end of game celebration in American Football- from the pro game to children's leagues, whether a scorching match in the heat of Florida or a -30 degress bone chilling duel on the frozen plains of Minnesota. Here in the picture is Patriots super-bowl winning coach Bill Billicheck getting dunked.













Shirt over face- Some feats are too good to be believed and in football you find goals a plenty scored from some unbelievable positions. When the adrenalin is high, you see some players do the shirt over face blindfold and run like crazy. Here, we see Fabrizio Ravanelli in mid-celebration.






















Biting the trophy- Done in the old days to check coins for authenticity, Rafa has without fail bit every single award he has won. The move seemed to be gaining popularity as medal winners in other sports at the Beijing Olympics were seen doing the same.
















Hats on ice- When a player scores a hat trick in ice-hockey, it is the custom for the crowd to throw their head gear onto the playing surface in respect. It still happens and is one of the moving sights in sports if you ever witness one live.





















Boxing with the flag. Tim Cahill of Everton and Australia started the tradition of running over to the corner flag and boxing with it after scoring a goal. When asked why he did it, he's supposed to have answered "well the flag started it".





















The chest bump- originally started in basketball, the jumping and thumping celebration has spread to all American sports. Its the adrenalin filled version of a high five.


















The fist pump- Perhaps an old fashioned simple way of channeling a testosterone surge after a moment of achievement, it has been trade marked by Tiger Woods after sinking long unbelievable putts.






















Doing the Airplane- Shoaib Akhtar has arguably done more than his share of celebration but when he's at his deadly best, he never lets a wicket go uncelebrated without doing the airplane.















The Ssshhh- Here we see Thiery Henry silencing the opposition through one of his trademark goals. Very popular with footballers when scoring on away games in front of boisterous audiences.

US Win the Ryder Cup- No Tiger Required

The US defeated Europe in the most closely contested Ryder cup since Brookline in 1999. The overall quality of the golf was exceptional and one is tempted to think that if Soren Hansen had defeated the 400 yards driving JB Holmes (they were all square after 15) the result would be different. But the crowd did its part as the 13th man and a well deserved victory to the US.

While the British press will be skewering Nick Faldo over the result, vicariously getting even for his career long non-cooperation with them, there wasn't much the captain could do different. Faldo's picks of Casey and Poulter worked out nicely and his decision to rest Garcia the second day did not hurt the team given his subsequent tepid performance. Its a shame that Europe's leading Ryder cup player of all time will have a losing record as the captain.


In an earlier post I had written about Anthony Kim's promise and Sergio Garcia's importance to the Europeans. The two happened to come across each other in the first match of the day and Sergio got absolutely annihilated by the American 5 & 4. Kim was on fire and finished 8 under for 14 holes. With Karlsson making short work of Justin Leonard 5&3 in match 3, it came down to the wonderful battle between Hunter Mahan and Paul Casey in match 2 to set the tone. The match fittingly finished all square on the 18th. Then the Americans produced some critical victories in the middle of the pack with Kenny Perry, Boo Weekly, JB Holmes and Jim Furyk. If one of those results had turned in favour of the Europeans, you can't help but feel the European tail of Poulter, Westwood and Harrington could have brought it home.

The US rookies, untainted by the negativity of past defeats, played remarkably and brought a lot of points home. An American victory has been a while coming and you have to tip your hats to them this time around for some great play. On to Wales for 2010!

Ryder Cup Day 2- Down but a far way from out

Europe mounted a mini come back on the second day as the group matches stage of the Ryder cup ended with a 9-7 lead for the US team (6-2 after the first day). Traditionally the strength of the European sides, this will be the first time in at least the last 4 Ryder cup matches that the Europeans will not be leading going into the singles matches.

There are 12 singles matches on Sunday and the math is pretty simple. The Europeans have to get the equivalent of 7 victories (2 draws are equal to 1 victory in points) out of 12 matches on Sunday to retain the cup, since a 14-14 tie will favour the holders. Sunday is a day of momentum and it will be important to see who leads off in the first few matches. Once the results starts going up on scoreboards it usually puts a lot of pressure on the players of the team chasing. That is why in the last two cups Europe ran away with a record margin of victory (18.5 to 9.5). The US players were chasing and that's never easy to do surrounded by forty thousand supporters and with the hopes of an entire continent riding on you . Nothing beats points on the board and if I were either captain I would load my best players upfront.

The standard of golf over the two days we have seen at Valhalla has been especially good with some great individual performances. The pick of the players for the Europeans so far has been Ian Poulter, fully justifying captain Nick Faldo's controversial choice of him ahead of sentimental favourite Darren Clarke. Poulter won both his matches today for 2 valuable European points. Leading from the front for the US team has been world number 2 Phil Mickelson. He has played some amazing rescue shorts and throughout the two days has steadied his rookie partners.

Ryder Cup Day 1- A Zinger for Faldo

I hate to say I told you so. (Ryder Cup- A Contrarian View). The British press' coronation of the European team not withstanding, the US team took a formidable 6-2 lead after the first day of of the 37th Ryder Cup. Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim came through their 2 matches with 1.5 points despite Kim looking nervous early on. The surprise performance (and there is always one) was by Hunter Mahan and Justin Leonard who brought in 2 points and looked untouchable. I had said the player to beat for the Americans would be Sergio Garcia, and he came home with half a point out of his two matches.

It's still early but the Europeans need a dramatic reversal of fortune tomorrow. The foursomes and the fourball format is supposed to be a European strength. They needed a lead going into the twelve single matches on Sunday but now would do well just to be close. Faldo will be going to sleep a worried man tonight. He better be praying that Garcia and Harrington start to produce, and Mickelson (out of his shell in Tiger's absence) stops.

Ryder Cup- A Contrarian View

The US goes into the Ryder Cup as underdogs for the first time in years and the British papers have been doing their part in getting ahead of themselves calculating the margin of victory. The champagne is on ice, waiting for the Sunday coronation. Even the betting markets reflect the Europeans' overwhelming status. The three players odds on to be top point winners are all Europeans- Garcia, Harrington and Westwood.

The sentiment is understandable as the Europeans took the last two Ryder cups with record margins of 18.5 to 9.5 points each and have won eight of the last eleven cups. There is a lack of desire and camaraderie among the US players. Tiger is out injured. The in form player is European double major winner Harrington. There are too many rookies in the US team. Retrospective explanations as above will be endless if the US loses, but a closer look now shows few of these to have weight.



The US has home advantage and expect the Kentucky course to be set up with light rough and fairways that widen at 300 yards to accommodate their long drivers. Tiger should not be missed, with only a 10-12-2 record so far and intimidating his own team as much as opponents. Look for one of the US rookies, particularly Anthony Kim (23 year old with third best PGA scoring average) to make an impact. The Hot Harrington had a 0-4-1 record in the last Ryder cup in Ireland. Experience is over-rated as rookies have previously had some of the best performances.



The biggest problem for the US will be countering Sergio Garcia who has a formidable record of 14-3-3. If the US can find an answer to him, expect this Ryder cup to be very finely balanced. A lot is dependent on how teams respond to pressure and for the first time in a while, the US does not have the pressure of expectations. Symbolically, the match is being held in Muhammad Ali's home town of Louisville, Kentucky. So don't be too surprised if it turns out to be a "thrilla".