and so the usually-savvy, ultra-cool Kobe Bryant has made a boo-boo which i suspect he sincerely believes in.
a member of one Olympic gold-medal team and going to his second Olympics -- after withdrawing in 2000 and 2004 -- the future HOFer claims the lineup heading to London is better than the Dream Team of 1992.
better than these jolly old fellas? you must be dreaming.
Kobe has slightly retreated from that stand, saying that maybe his current squad can't win a seven-game series but can in one game. the general public though aren't interested in details and have roundly criticised the LA Lakers guard.
Sir Charles Barkley and His Airness Michael Jordan were the first to fire their retorts, not too aggressively, both "laughing" at the suggestion.
1993's MVP Barkley believes the Dream Team would not just win, but by double digits. he further taunted that only LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe himself would make the cut in 1992.
Jordan said, "For him to compare is not one of the smarter things he ever could have done.
"Remember now, they learned from us. We didn't learn from them.
"When they get 11 Hall of Famers, you call and ask me again."
a bit of arrogance, but a lot of sense.
the Dream Team's 12 players have 11 inducted into the sport's Hall of Fame. they beat every team at Barcelona by at least 32 points, and that only happened in the gold-medal game. their overall winning margin was 43.7 points.
there are critics who now say even the Redeem Team of 2008 is better than the current. that one featured Dwyane Wade and NBA's best centre Dwight Howard. this time, they and last year's MVP Derrick Rose are missing.
Blake Griffin (no.14) has been replaced by college grad Anthony Davis. go imagine.
one of Kobe's reasons is the Dream Team was "too old", but he is flat wrong. the majority were in their late 20s, in their prime. only Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were retiring.
Kobe himself will be 34 next month.
it is true the current roster look more athletic -- LeBron and Durant will be a handful in any generation -- and quick -- Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala are high-intensity players.
this is probably the Dream Team's one true weakness. but the Dream Team was also built on a defence probably unrivalled in history.
sharing a combined 24 All-Defensive First Team selections, Jordan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and Karl Malone were all no-nonsense defenders capable of shutting down anyone.
Team USA 2012 may have outside shooting in Kobe, Durant, Deron Williams and James Harden, but the Dream Team had Larry Bird -- twice 50-40-90 -- and fellow sharpshooter Chris Mullin.
whether seven games or one, the Dream Team's experience to come up big will define them. at the time of the Barcelona Games, they had already played almost 200 more playoff games than the current one; they possessed 12 rings compared to seven; in the remote scenario it goes to clutch, Kobe and Durant can take the final shot but what if you're facing Magic, Larry Legend, Chuck and MJ? who do you guard?
yet for me, what really set the Dream Team apart was one crucial characteristic people forget -- in the world of pro basketball, an egoistic go-to man is common, but the '92 collection of superstars managed to put 'team' above 'individual', personal stats below completely bamboozling opponents. Chuck, of all people, led the team in scoring, with just a mellow 18 points per game.
six-time NBA champion Pippen believes his class can beat 2012's squad by 25 points. three-time MVP Bird was shrewd, "They probably could [beat us]. I haven't played in 20 years and we're all old now."
Point Guard
Magic Johnson, John Stockton vs Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook
whatever Paul, Deron and Westbrook can conjure, assist-and-steal phenom Stockton can in his sleep. i won't discuss Magic.
Shooting Guard
Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin vs Kobe Bryant, James Harden
the most fascinating matchup, but Jordan's GOAT.
Small Forward
Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen vs LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala
on any other day, LeBron can claim to be the best. Pippen will give LBJ a run for his money, but right now, Bird is still ahead.
Power Forward
Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Christian Laettner vs Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis
the Barkley-Malone one-two punch more than makes up for Durant's superpowers.
Centre
Patrick Ewing, David Robinson vs Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love
the most lopsided contest. Ewing and Robinson are legends. Chandler meanwhile has had two okay seasons. Love is getting there, but not quite there.
despite all the chatter across what can be called a game-changing tournament, the script for Euro 2012's final read all too familiar.
Spain versus a pretender, and Spain outplaying the pretender.
it is familiar not that La Roja only managed 52% of possession against Italy, but that they again lifted the trophy at the end of the contest, the first time a national side has won three straight major competitions.
substitute Juan Mata providing the icing on the cake with Spain's fourth.
four unanswered goals may be cool, but it's silly to read much into it since the Azzurri completely capitulated when down to 10 men. what is of significance is that the Spaniards have now defended their Euro title, never before done in this highly competitive cup.
unlike their club-level doppelganger Barcelona, who bulge the net for fun, Spain do blow hot and cold. but what stands as a fact is the Spanish tiki-taka plays fellow pros off the field in a majestic display of resilience. Spain, unbelievably, have now kept clean sheets in all their knockout games these three victorious campaigns.
acclaim was showered on Spain after Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, but a long overdue debate has finally begun -- are we witnessing the greatest national team ever?
Zinedine Zidane's France 1998-2000 were unstoppable, the Mighty Magyars of Hungary 1950-56 were stuff of legend, Franz Beckenbauer's Germany 1972-76 have to be the vintage from that sterling nation, while the omnipresent contender is Brazil 1970. but this is a subject for another day.
a success or not?
i call Euro 2012 a game-changer because tactics are slowly evolving in the modern sport again.
for one, the Italians showed that a three-man defence isnt outdated and can still work. it didnt last long but i reckon it would have worked anyhow.
furthermore, they got so many things right tactically, paving a way to the final. the midfield wasnt a diamond, dont let writers fool you. Italy's 4-1-3-1-1 ensured the middle of the park was dynamic and suffocating for the opposition.
cards couldn't stop Riccardo Montolivo and Claudio Marchisio.
this essentially summarises a key characteristic at Euro 2012 --the removal of traditional wingers. other teams opting for this include champions Spain, semi-finalists Germany and Portugal, France, England, Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
Spain, of course, were never a wing team, and most notably introduced here a ball-keeping strategy of six midfielders. the main duty of Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery, Alan Dzagoev, Andriy Yarmolenko, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Arjen Robben is to bomb the opposing goal. Lukas Podolski, Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle did the same for the Germans.
Russia, for all the flak they've gotten for an underwhelming exit, brought a breathtaking brand of football that involved multiple lines in the final third and interchanging players. more than once their opponents were left flat-footed, so it was a major surprise the strategy failed so badly against Greece.
negativity
Euro 2012 succeeded on a few fronts. the overall disciplinary record is good and the "Respect" campaign was upheld well with little playacting, scuffles or hounding of referees. off the field though left much to be desired, UEFA having to step in several times to sanction participating countries for fan behaviour.
football always needs a touch of unpredictability, and this tournament succeeded in that despite throwing up several, like Italy's run, the Netherlands' and Russia's exit, and the final-day drama in Group D, we can safely say there was no terrible injustice (except maybe Ukraine should be in the quarters?).
what is regrettable, was the negativity amidst admirable intentions to entertain. the eventual winners were labelled "boring" on many occasions, seemingly content to pass the ball sideward than forward. flair teams Sweden, Croatia, Ukraine, Russia and the Netherlands took the early flight home.
those latter two were responsible for the most shots in a game, 31 against Greece and 32 against Denmark, but both lost.
quarter-finalists Czech and France put in appalling performances -- the Czechs couldn't muster a shot on target against Portugal while the French played to lose against Spain. the flagbearer of negativity at this tournament, England, gave us one of the worst showings in recent memory during their defeat to Italy, when their most frequent passing combo was between keeper Joe Hart and big man Andy Carroll.
whether it's negativity or an evolution of tactics, the striker role is declining. many teams played with one (or less hurhur) here, and the top scorers only had three goals. the last time this number made you top scorer, whether in the Euro or World Cup, was 1992.
the Dutch need another Dennis Bergkamp, who was only 23 when he scored three at Euro 92.
it's a wrap
before Euro 2012 began i compiled an Idiot's Guide. i look back rather fondly now.
what did i get right? Andrea Pirlo, Mario Gomez, Mario Balotelli, Steven Gerrard, Antonio Cassano, Dzagoev and Yarmolenko had a superb campaign. Yohan Cabaye, the German central defence and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain emerged as international stars. Ivan Perisic did fairly well but it wasnt enough to send Croatia through.
on the flipside, Rasmus Elm didnt meet my expectations, while Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Christian Eriksen and Yann M'Vila made no impact whatsoever considering their reputations.
regarding the David Villa spot, Vicente del Bosque's answer was a false nine, but when needed, he preferred Fernando Torres over my preferred Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente.
lastly, the likes of Mario Goetze, Kevin Strootman, Mathieu Valbuena, Tomas Necid and Fabio Borini couldn't even get minutes, although their future is surely bright.
best xi
Manuel Neuer is for me the best goalie in the world, while Gianluigi Buffon's experience is unparalleled. but Iker Casillas edges them by being both of that. no other man you rather have between the sticks at Euro 2012.
Czech's Theodor Gebre Selassie was the only right-back who impressed, but the full-back role was dominated by left-sided men this tournament. versatile German skipper Philip Lahm switches to the right in my team, while Jordi Alba tops Fabio Coentrao, who was all-action but not exactly effective.
Sergio Ramos is the casualty as I want Daniele de Rossi in my team, but midfield's too packed for him. after all, he deserves credit for giving some of the best centre-back performances here, despite not being one.
going with Andrea Pirlo as the sole regista is no doubt enough, but given the attacking talent upfront, i pick an additional Steven Gerrard, who was Captain Fantastic for England. these two edge Xabi Alonso by carrying their countries on their own backs. Russia's Igor Denisov is also worth a mention, for achieving the mean feat of second-most completed passes during the group stage.
no prizes for who's first overall, and despite a rather average campaign, i trust no one more than Xavi, especially when im circling him with partner-in-crime Andres Iniesta and David Silva. Mesut Oezil gets no place, while Greek man-of-war Giorgos Karagounis, Poland's talisman Kuba and Czech workhorse Petr Jiracek deserve mentions.
strikers dont need partners these days, and i almost went for the invincible Cristiano Ronaldo, but taking into account his fluffed shots all tournament, i decided on the outstanding Mario Balotelli. following closely in third is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Mario Mandzukic's three goals and the combined four of Danes Nicklas Bendtner and Michael Krohn Dehli make them dangerous.
best subs
they're all forwards, but that's what they're for -- impact players.
two of the best footballers sitting at Euro 2012's benches (excluding Spain's) must be Antonio di Natale and Miroslav Klose. the former was Serie A's top scorer for 2010 and 2011, the latter has more than 60 international goals.
it was wise that the coaches sent them on regularly, two players who dont just give you fresh legs, but whole new problems for opponents.
winger Jesus Navas is one of del Bosque's fave replacements, and he always adds a different dimension to Spain's game. for that one critical moment, i pick Silvestre Varela, whose winner from nowhere against Denmark was priceless.
finally, how can i ignore Fernando Torres. i hate him, but he took home the Golden Boot off the bench. that's something.
breakout stars
it was a thrill to watch my prediction unfold in front of my eyes as early as Matchday One. with three goals and some wondrous play, Dzagoev is sure to hit the big time now.
not sure why Schalke's top defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos was not a guaranteed starter for Greece, but he seized his opportunity soon after and showed viewers the sleep-inducing team has players to watch for.
and at just 23, Vaclav Pilar's departure from the woeful Czech league will be keenly watched. the winger grabbed two goals and a man-of-the-match at this tournament.
best collective performance
the final was a washout and it was done against the 2006 World Cup winners so no point i rejig that.
among other games, Denmark's stunning victory over the Netherlands was one, plus co-hosts Ukraine's choking of Sweden. the Swedes hit back later with an eye-catching win at France, but that came too late.
the tight Group A saw some interesting matches. Russia destroyed Czech on Matchday One with breathtaking football, in a tie expected to be close. but the capitulating Russians allowed Poland and then Greece some amazing performances too. the Poles came into Euro 2012 lowest ranked, but turned the tables on their former rulers. on the other hand, we all know what happened in the Greeks' do-or-die game.
Italy will be remembered for a dominant display against England and a flawless one at Germany, who themselves were the form team up till the semis, toying with the Netherlands and steamrolling Greece.
on a whole Portugal had an average tournament, but they did manage to be the first country in a long time to put Spain on the backfoot, in their titanic semi-final. unfortunately they came out second-best.
best goals
Ibrahimovic's sublime scissors kick vs France
Danny Welbeck's backheel winner vs Sweden
Balotelli's difficult finish off the bench vs Ireland
and when the ball was sent towards Balotelli against Germany, you just felt something special was coming.
worst players
Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Russia's chief striker who put the ball wide every of his 14 attempts, setting a championship record. the media later used his name as a synonym for missing a chance.
i pity the Czechs, who have to depend on over-the-hill striker Milan Baros. he needed 217 minutes of football to get his first shot on target.
as is the case at previous major tournaments, Helder Postiga was woeful.
the whole Netherlands team, with special mentions for Arjen Robben, Huntelaar, Mark van Bommel and Maarten Stekelenburg. i wanted to include Ireland too but hey at least they weren't expected to win the goddamn tournament.
the Portuguese had some good defensive displays at Euro 2012, but Bruno Alves did not contribute to them.
Federico Balzaretti, Italy's worst starter and antagonist in Cesare Prandelli's nightly nightmares.
Wojciech Szczesny was a goalkeeper sent off on Matchday One and never returned to the lineup.
much was expected of veteran Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, a Bayern Munich player, to be the foundation for Andriy Shevchenko, Yarmolenko and Konoplyanka. he was crap.
We all understand that action movies are cheesy escapism. After all, could one commando really take out a whole compound full of bad guys?
Actually, yes. It turns out the history books are full of stories of soldiers doing things so badass they'd hesitate to put them into a film for fear of killing the realism. Like these men, for example.
Simo Hayha
Simo Hayha had a fairly boring life in Finland. He served his one mandatory year in the military, and then became a farmer. But when the Soviet Union invaded his homeland in 1939, he decided he wanted to help his country.
Since the majority of fighting took place in the forest, he figured the best way to stop the invasion was to grab his trusty rifle, a couple of cans of food and hide in a tree all day shooting Russians. In six feet of snow. And 20-40 degrees below zero.
Can you spot Hayha? Neither could the Russians.
Of course when the Russians heard that dozens of their men were going down and that it was all one dude with a rifle, they got fucking scared. He became known as "The White Death" because of his white camouflage outfit, and they actually mounted whole missions just to kill that one guy.
They started by sending out a task force to find Hayha and take him out. He killed them all.
Then they tried getting together a team of counter-snipers (which are basically snipers that kill snipers) and sent them in to eliminate Hayha. He killed all of them, too.
Over the course of 100 days, Hayha killed 542 people with his rifle. He took out another 150 or so with his SMG, sending his credited kill-count up to 705.
Since everyone they had was either too dead or too scared to go anywhere near him, the Russians just carpet-bombed everywhere they thought he might be. Supposedly, they had the location right, and he actually got hit by a cloud of shrapnel that tore his coat up, but didn't actually hurt him, because he's the fucking White Death, damn it.
Finally on March 6th, 1940, some lucky bastard shot Hayha in the head with an exploding bullet. When some other soldiers found him and brought him back to base, he "had half his head missing." The White Death had finally been stopped...
...for about a week. In spite of having come down with a nasty case of shot-in-the-face syndrome, he was still very much alive, and regained consciousness on March 13, the very day the war ended.
Yogendra Singh Yadav
Yogendra Singh Yadav was a member of an Indian grenadier battalion during a conflict with Pakistan in 1999. Their mission was to climb "Tiger Hill" (actually a big-ass mountain), and neutralize the three enemy bunkers at the top. Unfortunately, this meant climbing up a sheer hundred-foot cliff-face of solid ice. Since they didn't want to all climb up one at a time with ice-axes, they decided they'd send one guy up, and he'd fasten the ropes to the cliff as he went, so everyone else could climb up the sissy way. Yadav, being awesome, volunteered.
Half way up the icy cliff-o'-doom, enemies stationed on an adjacent mountain opened fire, shooting them with an RPG, then spraying assault-rifle fire all over the cliff. Half his squad was killed, including the commander, and the rest were scattered and disorganized. Yadav, in spite of being shot three times, kept climbing.
When he reached the top, one of the target bunkers opened fire on him with machine guns. Yadav ran toward the hail of bullets, pitched a grenade in the window and killed everyone inside. By this point the second bunker had a clear shot and opened fire, so he ran at them, taking bullets while he did, and killed the four heavily-armed men inside with his bare hands.
Meanwhile, the remainder of his squad was standing at the top of the cliff staring at him saying, "dude, holy shit!" They then all went and took the third bunker with little trouble.
For his gallantry and sheer ballsiness, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award. Unlike the Medal of Honor, the Param Vir Chakra is only given for "rarest of the rare gallantry which is beyond the call of duty and which in normal life is considered impossible to do." That's right, you actually have to break the laws of reality just to be eligible.
It has only been awarded 21 times, and two thirds of the people who earned it died in the process. It was initially reported that Yadav had as well, but it turns out that they just mistook him for someone less badass. Or they just figured no real human being could survive a broken leg, shattered arm and 10-15 fresh bullet holes in one sitting.
i was just thinking to screw tonight's opener Poland vs Greece. why does it seem mediocre matchups always kick off a major tournament.
but then that's not the same as there arent world-class players on show. smaller footballing nations do not necessarily have lesser individual footballers. been too busy with all these previews at ESPN i havent had the time to write for the championships starting today. i shall just do a quick one with the top players to watch at Euro 2012.
Germany
Goetze, Borussia Dortmund
since this will read like a Borussia Dortmund autopsy let's just start with the hardy Germans. i think Mario Gomez will finally emerge as a national hero, after years of 20-minute cameos. i hated his football when he debuted, but this has to be his best season yet. Bayern Munich made an admirable run to the Champions League final, while Dortmund has to be the most exciting team this year, and providing the spark behind Gomez should be Mario Goetze, touted by some as the complete footballer. also watch out for Germany's latest central defence products, Dortmund's Mats Hummels and Bayern's Holger Badstuber. please, get rid of Per Mertesacker, please. as always, Germany wont be everyone's first choice to win the trophy, but anyone's second choice.
Netherlands
Strootman, PSV Eindhoven
another safe bet to go all the way, barring the great Dutch tradition of implosion. every coach at this tournament will die to have Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in their selection list. the former is for me one of the top five players in the world, while the latter couldn't stop scoring this season. sitting in the deep-lying playmaker slot, a position i'll mention several times here, is Kevin Strootman, christened by some "the new Roy Keane". that's only half the story. the PSV star has a great passing range and an eye for attack, and now that he's replaced Nigel de Jong beside captain Mark van Bommel, Holland are an even bigger threat going forward. oh and there's still a certain Wesley Sneijder.
France
M'Vila, Rennes
the fact that the French haven't progressed past the group stage of a major tournament since World Cup 2006 is slowly getting buried under other headlines. this time, there are the favourites, there are the rest, and then there is France. they are shaping up so nicely it seems a foregone conclusion who'll top Group D. the name on everyone's lips is anchor Yann M'Vila, so young yet so important. dont call him the new Claude Makelele though because the Rennes man can really pass a ball. another player set for significant action is the diminutive dynamo Mathieu Valbuena. he was a benchwarmer for quite a while but Laurent Blanc's overhaul has allowed him to showcase his attacking instincts and dribbling skills. expected to contribute too are Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa, and striker Olivier Giroud. the Geordie pair had a sterling year, while Giroud finished ahead of Eden Hazard to win Ligue 1's golden boot, how about that. and there are Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery of course.
Russia
Dzagoev, CSKA Moscow
the core of the Hiddink Generation is still here, but seriously, who cares about Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Yuri Zhirkov, who have deteriorated so spectacularly. but then the communists have manufactured an Alan Dzagoev, an Ossetian wonderkid expected to be tomorrow's superstar.
Croatia
Perisic, Borussia Dortmund
this small country's talented squad is still around like Russia, led by the wizard Luka Modric, but they now also have Dortmund's (yes, again) eye-catching Ivan Perisic posing another danger in midfield. up front i am looking forward to Nikica Jelavic, who was a handful in the Premier League this season.
Sweden
Elm, AZ Alkmaar
like many, i want to say this team is Zlatan Ibrahimovic plus 10 other players, but Rasmus Elm and Sebastian Larsson will object to that. the former is the heartbeat of an impressive AZ Alkmaar, regarded as the best Swedish player since Ibrahimovic, and between them who will take the dead balls is still anyone's guess. finally, im not a fan of Kim Kallstrom, but he'll always be a key Swede.
Ukraine
Yarmolenko, Dynamo Kiev
the thought of Andrei Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka supporting Andriy Shevchenko, i wonder what they're capable of. a lot will be expected of the young wingers for Ukraine to get out of Group D. Yarmolenko, after all, is dubbed "the new Shevchenko" and is possibly heading to a big European club.
Denmark
Eriksen, Ajax Amsterdam
i think the Danes are screwed. just saying. but they do have Christian Eriksen, another prodigy attracting big clubs, who just guided Ajax to the Eredivisie title. still, Denmark is kinda short on individual talent and resting a country's hopes on a 20-year-old isnt exactly assuring.
Czech Republic
Necid, CSKA Moscow
people still talk of Czech's veterans, but im unconvinced. one interesting prospect to watch out for though is natural poacher Tomas Necid. at 1.9m tall he's built like Jan Koller. fans are hoping for another decade of imposing frontline presence.
Poland
the worst team in this competition whose spot is better off for Belgium and its talented players, the only way to put up a fight is by turning to -- yes, you guessed it -- Dortmund employees. the consolation is, they have three, in star striker Robert Lewandowski, Lukasz Piszczek and Jakub Blaszczykowski (im very sure you gave up pronouncing them). only other reason to watch them, is their host of "new citizens", naturalised from France and Germany.
Portugal
this country was once exciting, the Brazil of Europe. now they're just another Sweden. the primary duty of every player not named Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch is to distract the opponents. Ronaldo is the best player at this Euros, the second-best player in the world, Portugal's goal mine, free-kick and penalty taker, captain, even the best header of the ball. what more to say?
Italy
Borini, Roma
sadly, the Azzuri have gone backwards so much in the last few years, no one's heard of the bulk of the players. then again, there are two human beings on this planet who have perfected the regista role. Paul Scholes is retired from international football, while Italy have the other. if you think Andrea Pirlo is over the hill, he just had an incredible year at Juventus. another player who feels like a veteran but is only 29, is Antonio Cassano, expected to take up the other end of the diamond, the trequartista. Mario Balotelli has lived more like a celebrity than a footballer this season, but he's profoundly dangerous and could be the surprise hit here. another youngster to look out for is former Swansea hero Fabio Borini, although he lacks international experience.
England
we all know England well enough, so not much can be further said about this sorry-looking squad, which flew with six players from the 8th-placed Liverpool. for me, the one to take note of wont be in the starting xi. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wasnt even in Arsenal's starting lineup, but he is unbelievably brave, technically capable, and possesses England's proudest asset -- lightning speed. he has always excelled in the little minutes he played so expect him to. and if we have to squeeze another name out, let's not forget the Three Lions always arrive at a major tournament with one of the best midfielders of his generation, Steven Gerrard. if he manages to peak, it would be interesting to finally see how he leads the team without being burdened by Frank Lampard.
Spain
Negredo, Sevilla
they were every neutral's darling at Euro 2008, every neutral's shoo-in at World Cup 2010, but suddenly all the pressure's on them now that they dont look that guaranteed of the trophy. i dare say Barcelona cannot play like Spain, but Spain also cannot play like Barca. the national team's system works around David Villa, and despite the immense depth they have, Villa's absence will shake up their swagger and their confidence. i belong to the anti-Fernando Torres camp, believing he is currently inferior to Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Negredo. contrary to popular opinion though, it seems to me the latter is better suited to replace Villa than Llorente, who isnt as mobile. Xavi and Andres Iniesta will pull the strings as usual, while David Silva arrives here the same way he left the last Euros -- imperious. the envy of everyone, Spain are the only squad that can field a tournament-worthy second xi, so watch out for Juan Mata, Javi Martinez, Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla and Jesus Navas off the bench.
"The modern conception of man's intellectual relationship to the universe was anticipated by the Buddhist doctrine that desire is the source of illusion. This is true not only of the man of science, but also the artist and the philosopher.
Perfect non-attachment demands of those who aspire to it, not only compassion and charity, but also the intelligence that perceives the general implications of particular acts, that sees the individual being within the system of social and cosmic relations of which he is but a part. In this respect, it seems to me, Buddhism shows itself decidedly superior to Christianity. In the Buddhist ethic, stupidity, or unawareness, ranks as one of the principal sins."
this time yewhan and i were joined by jianli, johnson, paul. somehow someone has to be missing every time we visit. this time it's kenyee.
our conquests:
2 x pig trotter vermicelli
3 x nasi lemak
4 x miso ramen
7 x carrot cake
10 x grilled chicken
fucking hell that's 26 main courses for 5 pax. we only did 15 for 4 pax the last time!
the more amazing thing was, although we talked a lot the last time, we were there 11am to 5pm; yesterday we were there 11am to 1030pm wtf! an extremely fulfilling session of talk cock and htht.
observations of life through the lenses of warfare, by the former US Secretary of Defense
1. Empathize with your enemy
pause and understand where your enemy's coming from, and tailor solutions. the world would be a better place.
2. Rationality will not save us
even a dilemma involving the most rational of men can produce the most irrational of answers. accept that other factors can come into play. like luck.
3. There's something beyond one's self
values, morals, philosophy - these arent things we can claim to know or ever acquire. there are things out there we cannot control.
4. Maximize efficiency
5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war
how much is enough and how much is too much? proportionality asks not just if a solution fits a problem, but analyses the trade-off if the solution is not implemented.
6. Get the data
people tend to assume or rest on their laurels. if someone bothers to harvest statistics, things will be much clearer and solutions will arrive.
7. Belief and seeing are often both wrong
beliefs are often in sync with preconceived notions. we are programmed to pick up only what we want to believe. seeing it only reinforces that, without necessarily being the facts of the matter.
8. Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning
when your friends dont agree with you, your reasoning, no matter how right it seems, may be deeply flawed.
9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil
can good be achieved through purely good means?
10. Never say never
11. You can't change human nature
there's no hindsight to speak of at the incidence of things. we can never understand all the complex variables of a situation, and we'll make mistakes. reason has its limits. being sorry should be the norm.
ive noticed ive an inclination towards films that use a fun, summer, dumb kind of context to package messages far deeper than they explicitly market themselves. in other words, satirical allegories usually do it for me.
i wasnt too excited about The Invention of Lying when it came out in 2009, but although i admit its obvious flaws, i should've given the involvement of Ricky Gervais more credit. after all, the man's Britain's most prolific award-winning comic.
if there's one way to call it, my fave film critic Roger Ebert echoed my sentiments ably: "I saw the trailer for The Invention of Lying and expected to dislike it. [But it's] a much better movie than the trailer dares to admit."
the "remarkably radical" premise adds a slight yet monumental twist to contemporary society: no one lies cos no one knows how to, and everyone only speaks the truth. within this premise, Gervais peels off two layers of society to examine.
doctrines and love.
the key question to the first is, can doctrines exist without lies? most major religions as we know them started cos we listened to a couple of individuals. we believed them. but what justified the trust, and what still justifies it today? they said there are gods, but where such ideas come from remains fuzzy.
and so do many other things. heaven, hell, the afterlife... fuzzy, but they work fine as long as you have adequate faith. what are sins, how bad is bad, how evil can you go... of course it got a bit tricky for Gervais when the masses wonder why the gods do both good and bad to people. but the most telling came when someone asks how come these doctrinal information suddenly popped up millions of years into mankind's existence?
in a moving scene at the end, as Gervais' character attempts to steal the bride, everyone - and ultimately she - asks what does He want for her? cornered, and even though he yearns for her, Gervais chooses to walk away and not perpetuate his epic lie.
this brings me to the film's equal focus on the concept of love. at best, the romantic subplot is ordinary, often underdeveloped and strange. but it deftly scores several statements within the film's motto of honesty. here, romance almost always means verbalising your thoughts, which are often purely based on the superficial. but as Gervais' character learns to lie, he also learns to see beyond the external, able to imagine the inner beauty of his dream girl.
because love is not just solid facts. it is fiction, it is fantasy, it is a fairytale. it is faith in the irrational. in lying, Gervais understands love, and he tries to open her eyes to it.
"I found Buddhism fascinating. Their concept that you progress towards the Ineffable through a number of existences seemed to me much more intellectually satisfying than the Christian belief that you come just once and are cast into circumstances maybe of great wealth or of great moment, but that you come to God or don't come to God on the basis of that one life.
I was never on the point of embracing Buddhism but I found, and still find, it infinitely more satisfying than the Judeo-Christian philosophy."
Bob Hawke, Rhodes scholar and former Australian prime minister
if a theist praises an all-loving god for only helping some and not others, are they not implicitly acknowledging a god who struggles, sometimes unsuccessfully, against suffering?
the score read 152-149, to the West, and like all good All-Star games there was a heart-stopping finale, but the script of the game was much more than that.
my take before the game was this year's Eastern starting five would be too strong for their counterparts. yes no one takes the All-Star game seriously, but it's not always you get such a disparity in resources.
granted, the West had Kobe, Durant and CP3, but the lineup was completed by Griffin and Bynum. one's a sophomore who's a starter by way of his incredible dunking abilities, but far from the finished product. the other might be probably the league's second-best centre now, but it's no longer a centre game.
the East however owned a list that read LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, 'Superman' and the superlative MVP Rose.
as it turned out, there were a whole bunch of dynamics to take into consideration. the West All-Stars turned the East turtles on their backs from the word 'go'. LeBron and Wade were obviously here to have fun; this occasion is for the spectacular, rendering Superman a fish out of water; Carmelo and Rose visibly lacked game fitness.
and, the key difference was the opposing team possessed Kobe and Durant, probably the two most effective and efficient scorers in NBA now. in between having fun and the mandatory alley-oops, they didnt forget to rack up their baskets.
and like i noted, starters. when it comes to the bench though, the West's more than matched their rivals. Bynum didnt last long and there were Dirk and Love, of starter quality, to deputise. the three guards warming the bench were none other than Westbrook, Parker and the still-effective Nash.
i'll skip the jokers, but the best the East's could offer were Deron, Bosh, Rondo and 'The Truth'. okay Bosh is a joker too, in my opinion. Pierce in all honesty barely made the cut for this year's All-Star, while Rondo is off form. and these two point guards got a lot of minutes in Rose's place.
by halftime, it was 88-69. the West's counter is a record for one half in an All-Star game.
luckily, the good ol' fellas ensured it wasnt a washout. LeBron and Wade took over in Q3, leaving everyone for dead (except Durant). suddenly, we're all reminded once again Miami should be winning titles, not playing second fiddle.
near the end of the game the East All-Stars had incredibly cut the 20+point deficit to a single, soaring on the back of LeBron's 36 points and Wade's triple-double (only the third in history).
even if you're a critic of the fancy that's the All-Star game, you gotta admit the closing seven minutes were the sport at its finest, convincing enough as a playoff game. Wade had broken Kobe's nose, while the players were actually playing defence, can you believe it.
and as expected, the major subplot of recent All-Star games surfaced again - Kobe vs LeBron. the veteran, in the spirit of fun, demanded to mark his rival, and began trash talking heavily, centring of course on the latter's apparent mental weakness.
16 seconds left, two points less, ball in East's hands. what should the play be?
instead, Deron took the last shot. not too surprising considering the New Jersey guard's three-point talents, but one cant help wonder what LeBron said to the coach and his teammates at the preceding timeout.
Deron scuffed the shot unbelievably, the next hundredths of seconds saw incredible hustling by the East players, and the ball was back in LeBron's hands, almost like an act of God.
what did King James do, with Kobe still in his face? a crazy crosscourt pass that was duly intercepted.
then the chance came knocking again. one second and one play left, three points the difference. and guess what, LeBron is out of bounds readying to throw it in.
Kobe was disgusted. so were the millions watching the game. LeBron had chosen to retreat into his tiny hole again, refusing a coronation.
just like last year. just like at Cleveland. just like at the Beijing Olympics.
he throws it to teammate Wade - even more laughable, like an admission: "you're the more important Miami player."
it was a tough shot. baseline, three-point, turnaround, fadeaway, buzzer. but at least Wade tried, to win the game, to shut Kobe up.
MVP expectedly went to Durant, who also notched up 36 points.
other than the US national team, the All-Star game has to boast the most quality on one court. i hope such basketball continues.
also, a shoutout to Kobe, whose third-quarter breakaway dunk put him number one on All-Star points, overtaking MJ.
