A Tale of two conferences - Part 1: An NFC playoff for the ages

First up, Happy New Year all! May you all have a fun-filled 2018. Good luck with your new year resolutions.

Speaking of new year resolutions, one of my resolutions for 2018 is to write more often, especially on (all) sports. With the 2017 NFL regular season coming to a close on the last day of the year, what better way to start the new year than with a post on the season so far (with tidbits from fantasy football):

(Shameless plug: for a primer / beginner's guide to the NFL, please refer to my piece on Mint on Sunday here)

This NFL season (both actual and fantasy) has been a weird one, with way too many injuries and inconsistent performances diluting what has been the rise of some new stars in the league. However, we can look with some satisfaction at the fact that only four of the twelve playoff teams also made it to the playoffs last year, with quite a few teams (Jags, Saints, Titans, Bills, Rams, Eagles) not having made the playoffs at least since 2013.

As we look at the playoff lineup, we can see two conferences, trending almost in opposite directions. On one hand, you have the AFC, where the Patriots, set as the no. 1 seed, seem very well-placed to head to Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis, especially given that the other AFC playoff teams are not necessarily trending in the right direction. On the other hand, the Eagles, the no.1 seed in the NFC, seem very precariously placed, after the loss of Carson Wentz to an ACL injury. I may go so far as to argue that the Eagles team minus Wentz is the weakest placed amongst the NFC playoff teams, especially given the other five teams' strengths on both sides of the ball, and with momentum in the favor.

Let's start with the NFC, the more exciting conference. In my four years of watching the NFL, I haven't seen six teams in the same conference, each of which could go toe-to-toe against the other contenders (including the Eagles, who, before the Carson Wentz injury, were an absolute juggernaut).

Take the Minnesota Vikings, who, spurred by a strong defense, (unexpectedly) capable QB play from Case Keenum, one good RB in Latavius Murray, one Awesome RB in Jerick McKinnon (PSA: I am a McTruther) and the rise of the unheralded Adam Thielen, locked up the NFC North and a 1st round bye.

Or, consider the LA Rams. Widely expected to be a WIP season, Todd Gurley bounced back from his sophomore slump, and how. From 2.3 YPC and minimal receiving work in the 2016 season to almost 2100 yards from scrimmage and MVP candidacy, Todd Gurley best reflects the transformation of the LA Rams, who are an offensive juggernaut, backed by a good defense containing the likes of Aaron Donald.

Speaking of transformations, how about them Saints? From being dependent on Drew Brees to atone for the sins of a SHITTY defense, the Saints have ran the ball down the throats of opposing defenses through the two-headed Ingram - Kamara monster, and have benefitted from a vastly improved defense, rookie Marshon Lattimore being the standout defensive performer. Alvin Kamara and Lattimore are my picks for offensive and defensive rookie of the year respectively. Finally, Drew Brees can sit back and relax (not literally)!

Onward then, to Cam Newton and the Panthers. As the season progressed, Cam Newton looked back to his 2015 self, flashing that wide smile, the dab, and enjoying himself out there. And, watching football is more fun when Cam and the Panthers are having fun out there on the field. The defense has been much better than 2016, with Luke Kuechly playing all 16 games this season, and rookie Christian McCaffrey has added a spring in the Panthers' step, helping them pound their way into the playoffs.

Onto the defending NFC Champions, the Atlanta Falcons, also the only NFC playoff team from last season to make it to the playoffs again this season (albeit, just, by the skin of their teeth). While the defense has improved steadily as the season has progressed, reigning MVP Matt Ryan has disappointed this season. The strong defense and Matt Bryant field goals alone may not be sufficient against the LA Rams offensive juggernaut.

Finally, the Eagles, the no.1 seed. Before the Carson Wentz ACL injury, the Philadelphia Eagles were an absolute juggernaut on both sides of the ball. Carson Wentz was having a monster year, and would have been my pick for league MVP, had he not gone down with the injury. The defense has stagnated somewhat, conceding 29 points to the 3-13 Giants, while the offense is simply not the same without Carson Wentz, as shown in the turnover-prone performance against the already-eliminated Raiders. The other NFC playoff teams would be backing themselves to beat the Eagles in their own nest.

My predictions for the NFC bracket -

Wild card  round:
Falcons @ Rams -  Rams
Panthers @ Saints - Saints

Divisional round:
Rams @ Vikings - Rams
Saints @ Eagles - Saints

NFC Championship round:
Saints @ Rams - Too close to call; Rams slightly better on paper, but Brees and the Saints have playoff experience. I give a slight (Very Slight) edge to the Rams. 



PS: The NFC playoff race could have been a lot different, but for Aaron Rodgers injury in week 7, and maybe if the 49ers had signed Jimmy Garoppolo at the start of the season. The NFC West promises to emulate the crazy NFC South next season, with the Rams aiming to keep up their momentum, the Seahawks making a comeback from a rare playoff miss (hopefully if Russell Wilson gets more protection and help at running back),  David Johnson returning for the desert birds, and the 49ers showcasing the Jimmy G effect for the entire 16-week regular season.

Transfer Circus: Part 1

The Wimbledon finals just ended today, and as we have been witnessing for the past decade, yet another enthralling final, with the better player on the day winning. You look at Federer though, and wonder how a 34-year old has been able to sustain himself (almost continuously) in Top 5, and conjure up crushing performances like the one against Andy Murray. Clearly a case for greatest ever.

There is a sudden void in the sporting calendar: No EPL, no Champions League, no NFL, no tennis, no NBA. One India (2nd string team) against Zimbabwe. That's it. Truly boring times indeed. Thankfully, there is the transfer circus to keep us football-breathing mortals busy, and discuss the transformation of Ed Woodward, the valuation of a player named Sterling (Does naming a player after a currency increase his valuation) etc. ?

On to Manchester United first. Ed Woodward has suddenly emerged from a hopeless figure in the football transfer market to an absolute genius operator in the transfer market. This does raise hopes for many bored-to-death blokes in the banking industry, who suddenly believe that they have a future in the football transfer business (I am trying not to talk about myself). Of course, the only measure of anyone's success in the transfer market is your closeness to Jorge Mendes, who of course runs the entire transfer market, and may be considered the most powerful person in Europe.

From the times when he paid over and above the buyout clause for Fellaini and found imposters dealing with Ander Herrera, Ed Woodward has come a long way. 3 signings in 2 days, assuming that Schneiderlin is also headed to the Northwest. And picking up Memphis Depay from under the nose of PSG for GBP 22m, well before the season was over.

Memphis Depay's performances in the 2014 world cup were pretty good, not least when he came on in the Round-of-16 game with Mexico leading, caused havoc in the Mexican defence and freed up Arjen Robben. For a winger to top the goalscoring charts in the Eredivisie, ahead of the team's recognized striker, and take PSV to the title, 17 points clear of Ajax is pretty special. He is very good with set pieces, his free-kick style reminiscent of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

Memphis was snapped up from PSV for GBP 22 mn, even as we hear that Raheem Sterling will be on the blue side of Manchester for a not-at-all-paltry GBP 49 mn . Excellent business, from Liverpool of course. You see David De Gea who already has a foot and a half in Madrid, and is yet turning up for each training session in the Carrington complex like a true professional. And then you see Raheem Sterling. Clap clap. 

Matteo Darmian, a solid right back, acquired for GBP 14 mn. Not a bad deal for a young player who is the starting right back for the Azzurri. Did someone say GBP 50 mn for Ramos?

And now the two midfield signings: Schnei and Schwei. Both these players add the much needed steel to the midfield. The differences in the performances of the Red Devils with and without Carrick was there for all to see. Given the added workload due to European football, it makes sense to acquire at least two midfield anchors, since the team needs to have at least 1-2 such players at all times. While Schwei can provide the leadership for the next 3 years, Schnei can develop himself under the stewardship of Carrick and Schwei, two of the finest in the business.

So as it stands, the team could do with one backup goalkeeper (Going with Valdes as the starting goalkeeper is not a bad idea), a quality centre back (someone better than Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling) and a backup striker (assuming that Robin Van Persie has one foot and three quarters more in Istanbul). The midfield is packed, no really, with options such as Herrera, Blind, Fellaini, Carrick to add to Schnei and Schwei. Blind and Fellaini are versatile enough to be accommodated in multiple positions. Valencia possibly (in case you remember, he used to be a right-winger), or Di Maria (depending on the amount from Paris funded by Qatar). We will wait and watch. The window has only just opened.

Partnerships

A couple of mornings ago, I woke up to the social media platforms abuzz with the trends #264, #RoHIT etc. 264 runs in an ODI? Let's take no credit away from Rohit Sharma, who played some really good strokes, but (1) Robin Uthappa was only too willing to let him hog all the strike, and (2) You can't score so many runs without the bowling attack being downright pathetic.

Nowadays, an India-Srilanka match has become more of a tennis ball match in the backyard, when a match can be played at 5 minutes' notice. In fact that is exactly what happened, when the West Indies team pulled out of their series, and the Indian players, left with free time and no IPL, just called Srilanka for a series. 

 

Now, when you play one team this often, a 50-over innings becomes more like an extended nets session. Combined with luminaries such as Nuwan Kulasekara and Eranga in the SL team, juicy full tosses, dropped catches, a flat pitch and a lightning quick outfield, well....264 doesn't seem as unfathomable.

In the midst of all the batting carnage, I was suddenly struck by this question: How many 300+ partnerships have been put together in ODI cricket? Last I remembered, the count was 2, both in 1999, involving batsmen named Rahul, Sachin and Saurav. Cue - Check on cricinfo, and, lo and behold, the count still remains at 2.

This is amazing. Despite 350+ scores piled up with ease over the years, the bowlers being battered into submission, the introduction of powerplays, free hits and the like (and placid pitches), the only two 300+ partnerships put together in ODI cricket were at the end of the previous century.

This brings us to the focal point of this discussion: Partnerships. Somehow, with the overdose of T20 cricket, fast runs and flat tracks, the importance of building partnerships has been somewhat forgotten (?) / ignored.

Empirically, the importance of partnerships is inversely proportional to the placidity of the pitches. Its easier to score more runs at a quicker pace on placid pitches. This encourages the batsmen to play riskier shots, and deal more in boundaries. A loss of a wicket doesn't matter, as long as 300+ runs can be scored. However, in the longer format of the game, and on true sporting pitches, where bowlers have a greater say, runs have to be earned. This is where building partnerships can, and does win matches.

Now, I am a sucker for nostalgia, someone who still prefers test match cricket to T20s. I grew up watching the great Indian batting line-up (Sachin, Rahul, Saurav, VVS and Sehwag) come together to notch memorable wins for India, both home and abroad. Often, I would bunk school on the pretext of completing JEE class homework, only to wake up early in the morning to watch the India-Australia test series. :-)

 The great Indian batting line-up: Too many runs, too much awesomeness

Indian cricket was blessed to have a magical batting lineup through the late 90s and most of the noughties. Sachin had stepped into international cricket way before the Wall, VVS and Dada. While he was prolific from the onset, the team as such did not see much success in the early 90s, and were slaughtered like lambs outside the subcontinent. Only when the famed four came together (with VVS at his favored position in the middle order) did the team manage to see success in a sustained manner, aided, no doubt, by some aggressive captaincy by Saurav Ganguly. Some of the most amazing wins (Calcutta 2001, Adelaide 2003 for starters) were made possible by the partnerships they were able to string together. 

The records back up the assertions made above. In tests, Sachin and Rahul hold the record for overall partnership runs by a pair and number of century partnerships. Ditto for Sachin and Saurav in ODIs. Not only this, various permutations and combinations of these players are pretty high up in the partnership record stakes. Notable mention must be made of Virender Sehwag too, though, in his case, it was more about decimating the bowling attack than needing to pace and build an innings / partnership. His partnerships with Gambhir / Tendulkar feature prominently in both the tests and ODI partnership records. 

The performance of Team India in the past few test series outside the subcontinent has been pathetic. There is no doubt that the likes of Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, Rohit Sharma are high on talent. What is needed from these guys is the ability to build partnerships and forge a total, which the bowlers can defend. That is precisely how their predecessors shed the tag of "Lambs Overseas". However, the overdose of "hit-or-miss" cricket in the limited overs format does not help this cause.

At a broader level, the partnerships forged by the legends serve as a reminder how sustained success can be achieved only by working together and forging partnerships, especially in this era of individual egoism, where competition has ceased to be healthy, where individual achievement is often prized over teamwork. A reminder that monumental achievements are accomplished in a sustained manner only by working together. Something that Shahrukh Khan reminded us in Swades:

Cheers!!!

PhotoBlog: A day in Jersey City

I had initially set out to write a blog post panning the Millennium City. However, after my two previous posts panning certain musicians, I secretly wished to write about something positive (mainly due to the fear of being typecast as a Ranting Outrage Uncle).

Thanks then, to the Gods, for ensuring a day of glorious weather. The morning started with an invitation from my uncle to gatecrash a wedding. A pretty nice North Indian - South Indian fusion ABCD wedding it was then. I got to witness a "Baraat" in this part of the world.

Mare-Not Horse

The wedding rituals were mostly South Indian, and one sweet touch was to hand out a small booklet explaining the significance of each ritual in the (abridged) wedding. Given the increasing number of North-South weddings happening in India, it may be a good idea to hand out these booklets in such weddings.

The wedding was held at the Hyatt Regency by the Hudson, and I can affirmatively say that no other place can offer such a breathtaking view both of Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. One of the advantages of living in Jersey City and Hoboken is the view of both the skylines (especially from Exchange Place), which you obviously can't obtain in Manhattan itself. :-)

Midtown Madness

Downtown

Note the 3 tallest buildings in the midtown pic (from left to right) - (a) 1, Bryant Park - Bank of America Tower (b) 432, Park Avenue - One of the tallest residential buildings in the world (c) Empire State Building

Mandatory Boastful Comment: The green building right beside 1, Bryant Park is where I spend most of my waking hours. :D. From the entrance of the building (below), it does look pretty amazing. (Credits for this photo: Souvik Roy).

1095, AoA

I then found this interesting attraction outside the Hyatt Regency. 

Jantar Mantar #6
Location: Amdavad of the Western Hemisphere

This is a sun dial, very similar to the ones at the 5 Jantar Mantars in India. At 3 pm, the dial showed the time as 2 pm, possibly because we are still on Daylight Savings time until next weekend.

There was a "Indian festival of lights" celebration at Exchange Place, hosted by yet another Indian cultural association. While most gigs involved kids dancing to "Barso Re", there was this amazing performance by a fusion band called Mind Mind Motion, which had 4 guys, one each on guitar, sitar, tabla and percussion.

Sitar and Guitar: They rhyme well

On the walk back home, I could see that the hangover of Super Bowl XLVIII still lingers (somewhere at Grove Street)

Still a very Super Bowl

I then came across the JC downtown Halloween bash. This was an interesting fair near Grove Street, because, apart from the usual food stalls, we had dentists, massage parlours, petting zoos etc. set up shop. And, I sighted a Llama.

Location: Not Ecuador

To wrap up things, there was a rock concert at a cemetery / graveyard.

The Dead shall arise (thanks to all the Rock)

No seriously, there was a concert stage near the yellow and blue flags on the pic. In fact, there was this banner outside the cemetery. So much for All Souls day, Souls resting in peace etc etc.

Next Event - Tales from the Crypt: Halloween Walking Tour, Oct 31

Walking tour? Not of the cemetery please. I don't think that's a good way to spend a Friday.

A good day's work then.
Cheers

Disclaimer: Jersey City Improvement Council has not paid me to write this blog post.

Lyrical Ludicrousness-2: Yo!

So, on to the second edition of Lyrical Ludicrousness, starring Yo^2 Honey Singh (who loves to be addressed as Yo!). I needed to do quite a bit of research on this guy, since I have only heard two of his songs: Lungi Dance (Subject of a previous blog post) and the Woofer-Amplifier song......

Wait, the Woofer-Amplifier song is not sung by Yo! ?? Turns out that Its some Pak-Dutch singer named Imran Khan, though, looking at the two images below, you'd be tempted to believe that they are brothers-in-arms roaming through the myriad malls of Gurgaon.

So, more research then. Google search, and there is a website which shows the lyrics of all his songs. At the very first glance, the songs all have a common underlying theme:

Location: Some awesome party in some god-forsaken location in Gurgaon.
Subject: Some beautiful, well-dressed girl
Topic of Discussion: Make-up used -> Drink which she is having -> Next Steps
Next Steps: Shit like penthouse / top floor; calling "father-in-law" blah blah. (I am not going to elaborate on this)
Notable Song titles: Alcoholic, Love Dose, Chal Mere Ghar, Chaar Bottle Vodka, Weed Pila de, Main Sharabi

Safe to say that if certain sections of NCR youth actually start believing / getting inspired by this stuff, we are in a mess. Last I heard, Yo^2 songs are being sung at birthday parties of 10-year old kids.That, if true, is even scarier news.

On a parting note, I heard that the movie "Xpose", which released recently, featured both HimeshBhai and Yo!, which features Himesh as an sacked-cop-turned-actor........

Really?

Lyrical Ludicrousness-1: REPEAT!

Credits: Pramath Verma, For letting me use the name of his blog as my blog post title without permission.

This post has been in the works for a long time. It had been lying in draft mode for as long as my blog has been in hibernation. Many thanks to Souvik, Tahmina and Sanchita then, for bringing up the topic of the two most _______ (fill with inappropriate adjective) Indian musicians of the 21st century. We start first, with the senior music director-turned-singer-turned-actor-turned..........

Himesh Reshammiya:

Turns out that Himesh Bhai did start off pretty early in Bollywood (1998, to be precise, courtesy Wiki). He really took off, though, (at least in terms of movie soundtracks / per year), somewhere around 2004. Thank goodness then, for IITJEE coaching (never thought I'd say this, ever), for keeping me preoccupied through this period. Though, being honest, he was okay as a music composer. Eventually, along came 2005, BITS Pilani....and yes, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, and THAT cap. 

This song became a major hit for some reason (Whattay singing debut). This popularity can also be attributed partly to Emraan Hashmi (adulation, envy, whatever you can call it). I found it pretty irritating though (major understatement, this). To start with: The Werewolf sound. And then, Lyrics. So now, you have three words, (Aashiq Banaya Aapne). How do you manage to fill 15 seconds of air time 10 times in a song? Simple. REPEAT. 

(Aashiq Banaya) * 3 ....aapne. (And repeat this wherever possible in the song).

At the height of the mania, comparisons with the legend Mukesh began to be made. (Nasal Twang and all Ok, but seriously?). Neil Nitin Mukesh, were you listening?

Along came 2006, another song by Himesh, in a movie starring (you guessed it) Emraan. Song in question: Jhalak Dikhla ja. And this is how it goes:

(Jhalak Dikhla Ja) * 4

Ek baar (Aa jaa) * 5 (Ironic isn't it? Ek baar....followed by a five-fold repetition).

There, a pattern emerges. Now, for some reason, there were other songs he had sung, but the only ones running on TVs and hostel rooms were these gems. In the same year, one more gem, from a movie named "Rocky-the Rebel". And this song starts as:

Junoon * 12. One word....12 times. 

At this point in time, I had to check the follower and hater groups for ARR and Himesh on orkut (RIP). ARR's followers outnumbered Himesh's, and there were multiple anti-fan groups for Himesh, vs one really small one for ARR (Yes, someone actually did not like ARR). But still, all was well with the world.

Anyways, I do not recall any memorable albums after this period. He did make his acting debut, and acted in movies such as Aap Ka surroor, Karzzzz (some problem with the keyboard, no doubt), and most recently, the Xpose. I have seen none of these movies, so I shall refrain from commenting further.

Ahh wait, I totally missed Hookah Bar, the only song which he has written, apart from singing it too. 

Tera (Pyaar)*3 Hookah Bar. 

So someone's love has been compared to a .....Hookah Bar. Umm, let me know if any of you got this comparison.

So that's a long enough post. Next musician, up next, in another post, which will hopefully be published soon. Cheers!

The Great Indian election: The Stars are Aligning

Disclaimer: This blog post is a humorous take on the Lok Sabha elections due over the next month and a half. There is no intent to hurt anyone's feelings (By the looks of it, debates are getting more heated day by day) or to comment on party manifestos / policies.

The Great Indian election - that once-in-a-5-year event, is upon us. This means different things for different people-For economists, its the chance to give economic forecasts and predict bond yields for the next 5 years, for the news channels, its showtime, for the poll analysts, its (number) crunch time, for the cricket fraternity and IPL, it is "shift-this-damn-tournament/film festival-to-another-country" time. In the past, we have seen the people either suffering from clogged roads (due to election rallies), or obtaining the once in a 5-year-bonus electrical appliance (TV/Mixer/grinder) around this time. All said and done, this is one of the most keenly followed elections in a long time, and the level of debate and interest shown by everyone, especially the youth, is good to see.

Generally, the fortunes of the movie industry have not shown much correlation with elections (at least as far as I can remember). Movie stars, however, have shown more inclination than cricketers to jump into the electoral fray. (As far as I am aware, the grand total of ex-cricketers contesting elections this time is 3, Mohd. Azharuddin, Kirti Azad and Mohd. Kaif).

From the film industry, we have quite a few names this time around, as usual. We have Shotgun Sinha as usual from Patna. Many a noisy situation in the Lok Sabha can be controlled with Shotgun just saying "Khamossh". Hema Malini has kept up the family representation by contesting from Mathura, thereby upping the glam quotient. The "Dream Girl" tune should be enough to capture the entire 40+ votebank.

We do have some new names in the political fray this time around. The celebrity contest of this season is Kirron Kher versus Gul Panag from Chandigarh. And the celebrity twitter war is already on. Refer to the link below:

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/reel-life-to-real-life-twitter-war-between-bjps-kirron-kher-and-aaps-gul-panag/

Through the link above, we also now know which side Tusshar Kapoor is on.

From Serampur in West Bengal, we have...wait for it....Bappi Lahiri. So yes, presence guaranteed (musical or otherwise). Given the amount of gold he wears, one should question Bappi Da on the need to increase duty on gold imports. On a side note, we have a magician (Yes, an actual magician) contesting elections, from West Bengal. PC Sorcar, in a lighter vein, has wished to use his magic to make bad politicians disappear. Oh well!

                                            I hereby promise not to import any more gold for 
                                                my personal decorative purposes. 

From Ahmedabad East, its Paresh Rawal aka Babu Bhaiya aka Teja contesting the elections. I wonder if the voting mark will be placed on the cheek, instead of on the finger, in this particular instance.

As far as the South goes, politics and cinema have an almost symbiotic relationship. A complete discussion may warrant a separate post, which I shall desist from. However, it is important to know that DMDK aka Gaptane's party is now a part of the NDA. This implies that The Gaptane can actually end up becoming the defence minister, if the NDA comes to power. And that, ladies and gentlemen, shall be a great day in the history of India.

For the uninitiated, Gaptane Vijayakanth is the one person who can send villains flying simply by doing this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKcfIY5sFIM

The other major development south of the Vindhyas is the supposed division of a family in Andhra Pradesh, which is anyways going to be divided this June. (Too much division I say). Power Star Pawan Kalyan (different from Power Star Dr. Sreenivasan), has launched his own party, and will be in direct competition with his elder brother Mega Star Chiranjeevi. Ohh well, this is still better than Giridhar Gamango and his wife being on opposing camps in Orissa. A mega powerful starry battle awaits.

May Battle Royale commence!