"The Dirtiest Race in History"

The image is burned in the mind of everyone who saw it. It was the 100m final at the Seoul Olympics and a muscular Ben Johnson impetuously raised his right arm and powered ahead of the greatest 100m field ever assembled (video). We looked astonishingly at the stopped timer on the bottom right of the screen showing 9.79 seconds- a new world record. For the first time in history, four runners in the same race had run under 10 seconds.

Even more stunning news came two days later when Ben Johnson was unceremoniously stripped of his gold medal and the world record. He instantly became the black hole of all criticism, becoming the poster child of everything wrong with world athletics. Only now, we know that 5 of the 8 finalists failed a drug test and Carl "zero tolerance" Lewis himself should have been banned for two years for testing positive for stimulants at the US Olympic trials two months earlier. Linford Christie tested positive along with Dennis Mitchel and Desai Williams.

It appears however, that the US Olympic Committee did not apply the same standards it expected of the rest of the world. It appears the only reason US athletes did not get caught back then was because the USOC covered up for them. And the only reason we know this is that the former head of US anti-doping programme became a whistle blower and chose to release 30,000 pages of documents a few years ago.

It is in this light that Carl Lewis' latest rant casting aspersions on Usain Bolt are especially bothersome. After questioning Bolt's improvement, he went on to proclaim, “I’m proud of America right now because we have the best random and most comprehensive drug-testing programme. Countries like Jamaica do not have a random programme, so they can go months without being tested. No one is accusing Bolt, but don’t live by a different rule and expect the same kind of respect. How dare anybody feel that there shouldn’t be scrutiny, especially in our sport?”

Where was Carl Lewis when all the Americans were winning the sprints? Where was Carl Lewis when Americans (including himself) were testing positive and the USOC was shielding them? Where was Carl Lewis when the Balco scandal broke? When Justin Gatlin and then Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones returned their three Olympic golds for testing positive. Was that in Jamaica? Where has Carl Lewis been?

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.

Rossi vs Gibernau- Best of Moto GP

In my previous post I mentioned how Formula 1 was losing its excitement, especially when compared to a sport like Moto GP. Well, Valentino Rossi is the greatest known purveyor of the sport and while I promise to honour him in an individual writeup later, here is a taster of his skills. This is the last lap duel between the famous number 46 and Sete Gerbernau during the Spanish Moto GP of 2005. Don't miss the last minute of the race, there are more lead changes than an entire Formula 1 Grand Prix.

200mph at Night- Without Headlights!

Singapore will become the first country in the 58 year history of the Formula 1 to have a Grand Prix after dark. Yes, 20 F1 drivers will hurtle under flood lights from one concrete banking to another at close to 200 mph. Initially designed to please European TV audiences by holding a night time race, the gimmick has turned into the greatest leap forward for the flagging sport. But will it revive interest in a sport declining in popularity?

Formula 1 has been bogged down in technicalities that are difficult for novice audiences to follow. Who cares if its a 2.4 litre naturally aspirated engine with V8 configuration or a 3.0 litre V10? A ban on variable intake trumpets or bargeboards, sidepods or rare diffusers. I subscribe to two car magzines and even I can't keep up with the rules, or care to.














What I do care about is that there is lots of overtaking (like Moto GP), which there isn't currently. I do care that Formula 1 cars are capable of going from zero to 100mph and back to zero in under 5 seconds. That under deceleration drivers can experience forces of up to 5.5 g. It does impress me that the down force generated by the cars at 150mph can make them drive upside down on the roof of a tunnel without falling. With so much capabilities at their disposal, its a pity those running the sport don't get on with the business of racing instead of getting obsessed by tyre changes or switching around qualifying rules.

Its not looking any better either. With its cutting edge image and a global TV audience of 300m, it seems every emerging market wants a part of the action. This means money will keep getting pumped into the sport and those who run the sport will feel no pressure to improve the spectacle of the sport. In recent years Bahrain, Shanghai, Istanbul and Singapore have moved onto the race calender and Abu Dhabi and Delhi are next.

The Courage of Derek Redmond

Sport is inspirational because it brings out the best in us. The best speed, measured in seconds. The most force, measured in pounds lifted. And the most power, measured in meters thrown. But how do we measure the most courage? What about heart and grit and determination?

The 1992 Barcelona Olympics is associated in a lot of minds with Linford Christie's gold in the 100m sprint. It was memorable for me because the friend I ran around with in school, Arif Hussain, ran heat number 3 of round 1 in a valiant 10.83 seconds, finishing only four places behind Christie (10.48 secs). But the real inspiring story of the track took place away from the 100m, in the 400m semi-finals. It involved British medal hopeful Derek Redmond.

Derek was a medal favourite when he arrived in Barcelona, having previously withdrawn form the Seoul Olympics 400m only 10 minutes before the start of the race due to an Achilles tendon injury. This was the athlete who had shattered the British 400m record at the age of 19. He had five surgeries in the following year and after a long rehabilitation process slowly worked his way to becoming one of the favourites for the 1992 Olympics. The night before the race he strategized for the race with his dad, who was very close to him, and they decided that even if the race didn't go according to plan he would finish it at all costs.

What happened in the race is in the video below. As the commentator says, "he got the cheer of the olympics." Of course, visa made it into an ad immediately (attached below the video as well).

The Rich Four, not the Big Four

Money may not win titles in the English Premier League, but lack of money precludes titles. Yes, all rich teams do not win the title, but all the teams that win titles are rich. The "big four" of English football have the highest wage bills by far. Last available figures from the 2006/2007 season show that the top wage payers were Chelsea (£132.8m), Man U (£92.3m), Arsenal (£89.7m) and Liverpool (£77.6m). Surprising? Not.

If that is not enough of a correlation, then take a look at the next four (bar one) highest paying clubs: West Ham, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton. All those fighting for UEFA Cup places or dreaming of challenging the top four. In fact, the only team paying more than the next four and not getting similar results is Newcastle United, the perennial under-performer of the league. Manchester City, newly acquired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, is widely expected to challenge for a top four spot. While they appear to have little chance of doing so this year, they might after a summer of transfer activity next year. But I'm willing to wager a few quid that when they do, their wage bill will look more like Chelsea than Blackburn. English fans who live on dreams of some genius manager making shrewd acquisitions or harvesting their clubs' youth academy can wake up and smell their credit cards.