Sports Gully: Is Ice Hockey on its way up in Tobacco Road?

The Carolina Hurricanes (based in Raleigh, NC) lift the Stanley Cup finals for the first ever time in its 27 years of existence (in Raleigh for the last 9 years). They beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in the seventh game of the best of seven series. So thought I should my two cents in on ice hockey in Tobacco Road.

Nevertheless, before we go any further, what is Tobacco Road?

Tobacco Road is a legendary phrase when you refer to sports, especially College Basketball (in the US of course). It refers to the Tobacco growing area of North Carolina and it is an imaginary Road connecting the four schools in the area - North Carolina State University aka NCSU (Raleigh), which also happens to be my alma mater, University of North Carolina aka UNC (Chapel Hill), Duke University (Durham) and Wake Forest University (Winston Salem). These schools have nine NCAA titles amongst them. Folks along the tobacco road live for their college basketball.

The rivalry between them dates as back as 60-75 years. The rivalry between NCSU and UNC is as intense as the one between India and Pakistan or an England vs. Argentina. You can find many a couples at the games with one spouse sporting a NCSU jersey, while the other in a UNC jersey and their kids, well they are the ones to suffer the most with a multitude of jerseys representing their parents. During the peak of the season, you can find intense arguments taking place at the dinner table, as to which is a better team.

So when the Hartford Whalers (1979-1997) decided call themselves Carolina Hurricanes and move to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1997, which is a predominantly a basketball and a NASCAR nation, people were apprehensive about the move. How long is this franchise going to survive? The experts thought it was going to survive after the Hurricanes had a dream run in the 2001-02 season and reach the Stanley Cup finals to finally lose to the Detroit Red Wings. During their dream run, the people on the Tobacco Road went crazy over the Cinderella Hurricanes. The hopes were high so the next season started with sold out stadium, yes, ice hockey was after all going to survive, Boom...Lightening stuck and the Hurricanes were having a bad run and did not make the playoffs, the crowds attending the game took a nose dive.

I had the pleasure of watching the Hurricanes live the following season. It was electrifying, no not the crowds but the game. They were out of the playoff run when I watched them. It is so easy to forget that people are actually skating at lightening speed and controlling the puck. Everything about this game happens at a very fast pace. The reflexive saves by the goalie, the hard nasty hits against the glass walls and the fistfights on the ice makes this a very exciting game.

So, why is there a decline in crowds? It is the typical mentality of the crowd to watch their team only if they are doing well or if they are playing a long-term rival, a rivalry ala UNC and NCSU and UNC and Duke.

Now that the Carolina Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup and brought a first of any professional league title to the area, are they going to perennially attract crowds and will it be half as popular as basketball? Titles at the big stages have evoked a sports revolution in a city or country, so can there be a revolution of ice hockey in Tobacco Road? This, only time can tell.

Things I think:

1) Not sure, when was the last time the NHL and NBA titles went to first timers? Do not think the FIFA World Cup will follow the above trend and have a first time winner.

2) There seems to be many inconsistencies when in comes to yellow carding players at the FIFA World Cup. It is not the inconsistencies in a particular game but from game to game. This could prove decisive in the final later stages.

3) Did Shaquille O'Neal need Kobe Bryant or vice versa for their three titles with the Los Angeles Lakers? Think this question was answered when the Miami Heat won their NBA title.

4) The Miami Heat is going to be contenders for a long time with the play of Dwayne Wade. He just dominated the finals invoking memories of the Jordan era.

5) I was wrong with the Indian Hockey team at the Azlan Shah Trophy. They have won the bronze. Was I being optimistic or pessimistic when I made about them having a dismal run?

Quote of the Week:

"The ball is round. The game lasts 90 minutes. Everything else is pure theory"
- Sepp Herberger (The manager of West Germany, winner of 1954 World Cup)

The Next UN Secretary General

A "very important" question making rounds on most of the news channels on television is "Will Shashi Tharoor be the next UN Secretary General (UNSG)?" Will he, won't he? I don't know. I don't know anything about him apart from him being the author of a book titled "Riots", that my friend adores and that is from some little village in Kerala. Oh! Flash news...He has been with the UN for 28 years (just saw that on television as I'm writing this). Now to the bigger question of Shashi Tharoor's candidacy...the cost. You must be wondering why cost and what cost?

The cost is India giving up its aspirations of becoming a permanent member of UN Security Council, as only a person from a non permanent member of the UN Security Council is an eligible candidate. So India is giving up its long term objective for a short term gain? Is it really a short term gain? How much of a power does a UNSG have? The powers were very evident during the lead up to Bush's Desert Bash.

India had once rejected the permanent when it was offered on a platter for reasons that are best not discussed. Yet, we are doing it again. I know the context and the circumstances are completely different, but it's the same when you see the bigger picture. What are we conveying to the world? We are just showing how serious we are about the permanent seat.

Few would argue that it is politics. Yes, I do agree as we have seen such flip flop acts a number of times in National and State politics. The buck has got to stop somewhere! It is time we tell the international community when it comes to world politics and we are a strong and resolute country.

Anyway, Good Luck Mr. Shashi Tharoor!

Sports Gully: The Birth

I have always wanted to write regularly on one of my passions - sports. However, for various reasons I would often get started, but run out of steam to finish. So, as I was lazing around this Saturday watching soccer, EUREKA happened. I decided to start...hold your breaths...MY OWN WEEKLY SPORTS COLUMN!!! Apologies for the anticlimax if I got carried away, sports usually does that to me.

Now that I knew what was on my plate, the next question was what do I write week in and week out? This I didn't have to think twice. I am a regular reader of Peter King Jr.'s Monday Morning Quarterback - MMQB (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/peter_king/archive/index.html) on Sports Illustrated, which is a part of CNN. I really like this column for various reasons. I just like the various sub-sections, the flow and the content. Therefore, I am going be shameless and try to adopt the MMQB format. Mr. King Jr.'s column targets American Football while I am going to target sports in general (gives me more opportunity and space to ramble).

With the content and the potential murky format in place, now the million dollar question was what title should I give my column? My brains got kickstarted and it went through this kaleidoscope of possible names. Let me name a few of the weirder ones for your amusement - "Weekend Wicketkeeping", "Weekend Goaltending", "Street-smart Cricketer" and "Street Sports". Then was some some sanity and these names popped out of my head: "Powerplay", "Touchdown", "Slamdunk", "Touchdown Corner", "Sports Corner" and finally "Sports Gully". Since, I couldn't think of anymore and save myself from further embarrassment, I decided to stick to Sports Gully. A friend even gave me a professional nod of approval for it.

And just like that...SPORTS GULLY, my weekly sports column is born.

Lets get to some Sports now!

Here are my FIFA World Cup 2006 predictions:

Quarterfinals:

1) Germany vs. Argentina
Argentina wins in regular period

2) England vs. Holland
An upset special: Holland in overtime

3) Italy vs. France
France in a penalty shootout

4) Brazil vs. Spain
Upset of the World Cup: Spain in regular period

Semi-Finals:

1) Argentina vs. Holland
A repeat of Group C, Argentina wins in overtime

2) Spain vs. France
The neighborhood tussle! Spain in regular period

Finals:

Argentina vs. Spain
Argentina in regular time for their 3rd FIFA World Cup.

Surprise of the FIFA World Cup I round:

1) Ecuador - For their first ever 2nd round appearance

2) Ghana - Making it to the 2nd round on their maiden appearance to eventually lose to Brazil.

Things I Think!

1) Carolina Hurricanes lift the Stanley Cup by beating the Edmonton Oilers in game 7 of the best of 7 series. (Ice Hockey)

2) Miami Heat beat Dallas Mavericks in 7 games for their first ever NBA ring. (Basketball)

3) India is going to have a dismal run in the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia. (Hockey)

4) Well have I written anything about cricket yet? Don't think Harbhajan Singh will play in the 3rd test either. It has more to do with Greg Chappell's theory of having 3 fast bowlers.

5) I still can't get over the fact that Ajit Agarkar isn't there in the test squad after being the only Indian bowler to impress in the one-day series.

Quote of the week:

"Before the Paraguay game we'll all shake hands. At Madrid we all kiss each other before we go out. Against Jamaica, Aaron Lennon was waiting to replace me and as I approached I reached forward to kiss him, but then thought 'no, better not'."
David Beckham on the difference between English and Spanish customs.

A Little Nostalgia

Every Saturday after sweating it out at the KSCA badminton courts, I make it a point to walk into the stadium, sit near the pavilion, and just gaze at the lush green out field and the empty stands. Sometimes, I am walk in and see kids practicing or in a game, but still that green out field and the empty stands have my full attention.

Every single time I sit there, it takes me back in time to the first time I ever set my foot in the stadium. I went there with huge expectations on the 4th day of the final test match between India and Australia in 1998. It turned out to be a sorry day for the ardent Indian fan and a die-hard Azhar fan, to see India lose that test. Nonetheless, it is a moment I will always cherish, for as I stepped into the stadium and see the lush green out field and a boisterous crowd just left me overawed. It was a feeling that is beyond words.

Now, as I sit here in the KSCA stands and jotting my thoughts down. I cannot help feel that every time I walk though the narrow passage into the stadium, it feels like I am walking back in time. To the days of my childhood, to this cricket crazy childhood, which is best described in my dad’s words, “He is crazy enough to stop everything and even watch little kids playing cricket on the street”. Well, it was time to walk back past the passageway, into the present.