10th DEC 2011: CLASH OF THE TITANS

It's the 10^th of December and we have two spectacular events coming.

First, we will have El Classico, yes once again Real Madrid and Barcelona will face each other at the Bernabue, Madrid. Barcelona has been the better of the two teams if we look at the previous head to head record. But no one should underestimate Real Madrid as their recent form shows that they have a near perfect record in all competitions and of course who can be stupid enough to underestimate Jose Mourinho.

My prediction is that it will be a spectacular match but this time Real will win. . . . . .

The second counter is between Amir Khan and Lamont Petrerson. Amir Khan will be defending his IBF and WBO Welter weight championship belts against the American. Amir Khan is the favourite to win the bout but Peterson should not be underrated that much, he has a very good record of 29-1 with 15 knockouts, has only lost to Tim Bradley and also has drawn a match to Victor Ortiz, so this shows that he should not be taken as an easy opponent.

On the other hand Amir Khan also has a very impressive record of 26-1 with 18 KO’s and is improving his technique match by match. Khan’s main focus is on getting a match against Tim Bradley or Floyd Mayweather Jr. Let’s see what Peterson will do control the outrageous pace of Khan.

My prediction is that it will be a tough fight tougher than it is expected but Amir will certainly have the upper hand over his opponent. Lets see what happens. . . . . .

So check your local timings sports fans, so that you don’t miss either of the event. . . . . . . .

F1: WEBBER WINS THE LAST ROUND

The Aussie broke his duck by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was the 7^th career victory for the Aussie. He also clinched the 3rd place from Fernando Alonso in the driver’s championship standings.

As expected, Sebastian Vettel started from pole and got off to a flying start and managed to open a comfortable gap to the second placed Mark Webber in the early laps of the race but he was asked to be cautious because of a gear box problem. On lap 40 Vettel gave the lead to Webber and focused on nursing his car to reach the chequred flag. He came home in 2^nd place with a comfortable gap of 10 sec’s. The final podium place went to Mclaren’s Jenson Button, Button once again drove a fantastic race, he was overtaken by Fernando Alonso in the 11^th lap but then he drove a solid race and took the position back which he lost earlier in the 62^nd lap by overtaking Alonso. Alonso despite having all the Ferrari team behind him just managed to take 4^th place while his teammate who was celebrating his 100^th race and 10 years with Ferrari took 5^th position. He also entertained his home crowd by making some smoking donuts after the end of the race. Adrian Sutil drove an excellent race and got 6^th position ahead of Mercedes’s Nico Rosberg. Di Rest came 8^th as Force India collected some valuable points in Brazil. Kamui Kobayashi and Vtaly Petrov finished in 9^th and 10^th position respectively.

Micheal Schumacher for the first time this season was not able to entertain us in the opening lap. And even lost a position, he got it back but while passing Bruno Senna at turn 1 they collided and Micheal suffered a puncture as a result. Bruno was given a drive through penalty but Micheal’s race was destroyed. Lewis Hamilton’s poor form or perhaps his real form continued as he retired from the race in the 47^th lap due to a gear box problem. He was in 5^th place at the time of retirement.

This concluded the 2011 Formula 1 season. The championships were already decided so there was little to be decided. I will conduct an analysis of each team and each driver in a short time so till then bye bye and drive safely everyone. . . . . . . . . . . . .

BOXING: A CHINK IN MANNY’S ARMOR

The fight between Manny Pacquio and Juan Manuel Marquez was a thriller. It was the third bout between them the first one was a draw, Manny won the second one( the decision was controversial according to some experts) and guess what happened in the third one, Manny won it again in a more controversial manner. Controversy once again loomed in Vegas, people had hardly forgotten the controversial punch of Floyd Mayweateher Jr which knocked Victor Ortiz out in the 8^th round and here comes another one.

Manny Pacquiao the WBO Welterweight champion, the world’s best pound for pound boxer entered the MGM Grand Garden Arena with high hopes of beating his opponent as the experts and everyone else thought the same too but his opponent Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez really worked hard and really exploited Manny’s weaknesses. As there was a lot of talking about Pacquiao vs Mayweather, so their different styles were also discussed many times. Pacquiao likes to attack whereas Floyd likes counter punching. So a lot of people where rating Floyd Mayweather favorite over Manny Pacquiao. And we all know that Freddie Roach the trainer of Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan also admitted that counter punching is their weakness and they will have to work on it. So happened in this match. Marquez also likes counter punching and forced Manny to come in the play and was very successful with his strategy.

It was an amazing fight, an incredible contest between the two contestants, until the final round. When the round ended Marquez raised his hands and believed that he had won it so did many others, on the other side Manny was quite and went to his corner praying for the victory. Surprisingly the decision from the judges came 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112 in favor of Manny. This really was a surprise for everyone. A lot of people criticized the decision. The Ring a prestigious magazine in boxing world rated the fight 115-113 in favor of Marquez. Another and the most notable criticism came from Manny’s own Sparring partner and the WBF and IBF Light Welter Weight Champion Amir Khan who said that he felt that Marquez won it by one or two rounds so did his trainer Freddie Roach. Amir Khan later said that its time that Manny should consider retirement and leave the sport on a high note. Some Filipino channels showed footage that Marquez stepped at Manny's feet 6 times which they referred as cheating but in my opinion I don’t think it matters too much.

So all the credit goes to the 38 year old Mexican he fought really well but this time again luck was not on his side. I will agree with the statement issued by Amir Khan that Manny should think seriously about his career, should really think that whether or not will he be able to fight Floyd or not. Marquez officially lost the match but won the hearts of many fans.

F1: VETTEL TRIUMPHS IN THE INAUGRAL INDIAN GP

Sebastian Vettel, the 2011 World Champion won the inaugural Indian GP in a comfortable fashion.

As the race started, the German started to move away from its rivals. The track conditions were a little tricky for the drivers to maintain their tyres as the surface was new and there was not that much rubber on it but gradually the conditions improved as it got rubbered in that is why we observed so many fastest laps in the race. Jenson Button made a flying start and overtook Alonso and Webber in the start and maintained his second position right till the end. Alonso came third; he overtook Webber in the second round of pit stops in the lap 39. Webber finished 4^th and was on the tail of Alonso when he crossed the chequred line. Then were the two Mercedes’ in fifth and sixth place and guess who was in front!!!! Not a surprise Of course we are talking about Sunday so it should be Michael Schumacher. Michael drove a brilliant race, he started from the back of the grid (12 position, row 6) and overtook 3 cars in the opening lap and maintained his status of being the aggressive starter. Later on he managed his tyres way better than Nico and managed to run 5 laps more than his teammate Nico Rosberg to overtake him. Schumacher credited his strategy after the race and said the he deliberately didn’t used the KERS in the first two corners of the first lap so that he can use that in straight and it worked out (oh boy! do he think differently)

Further down was the problem guy, yes I’m talking about the sports most overrated drive Lewis Hamilton he came home seventh despite colliding with None Other Than Felipe Massa. It was the sixth time they’ve touched their cars. Tough on the previous five occasions I held Lewis fully responsible for the mistakes and there was nothing Massa could have done about it but this time it was because of the mistakes of both the drivers. Massa was on the cleaner side (the racing line) and Hamilton tried to get his car in at turn, as Massa turned his car the Mclaren’s front wheel touched Massa’s rear wheel due to which both the drivers had to make an early pit stop . Later, Massa was handed a drive through penalty which was very harsh. For me it was a racing incident and Massa alone was not responsible for it Lewis was also at fault but how often do we see stewards favoring Lewis. Later Massa hitted the kerb hard once again in the same fashion he did on Saturday and damaged his front suspension and retired from the race. Later on Massa along with Stefano Domenacalli expressed that he was surprised because of the steward’s decision. Mark Webber also said that he thought that it was a 50-50 incident in his opinion and the steward’s should be a little lenient.

Jaime Alguersuari came eight, Adrian Sutil came ninth and Sergio Perez tenth and all helped their teams earn important 4, 2, 1 points respectively. All the three top finishers paid respect to Dan Wheldone and Marco Simoncelli for whom one minute silence was also observed.

Next Formula 1 will move to Abu Dhabi for the day night race experience the championship is over but let’s see who will finish second in the standings after the last two rounds, till then drive safely and bye. . . . . .

CRICKET: PAKISTAN WINS TEST SERIES IN UAE

Pakistan extended their impressive run in test matches as they won the series against Sri Lanka. The home side playing in the United Arab Emirates looked in total control over the tourists from the very first match. In the first match Pakistan out played the Lankans but due to their bad fielding habits in the second innings lost the control of it and the match ended in a draw. The highlight of this match was the double centuries by Taufiq Umer and Kumar Sangakkara, both made 236 &211 respectively, while Junaid Khan and Umer Gul picked 6 wickets a piece.

In the second test match Pakistan once again looked in control when they bowled the tourists out for 239 and piled up huge total of 403, Azhar Ali made a century while the middle order also played its part in piling up the runs. Pakistan once again was able to trap the tourist’s cheaply in the second innings for 257. Pakistan was giving a target of 96 runs which was achieved easily with the loss of a single wicket. Mohammad Hafeez made an unbeaten 59 runs while Saeed Ajmal picked up 8 wickets in the match and was awarded an of the match.

In the third match Sri Lankans looked to be in quiet control, they made 413 runs in the first innings curtsey of Sangakkara and Dilshan’s strong innings. Both made 144 and 92 respectively. Pakistan in reply fell 73 runs short of the target and made 340. Younis made 122 while the skipper Misbah ul Haq play a very important and sensible innings of 89. Welegedara picked 5 wickets. On the final day of the test match we observed an unusual rain in the Middle East and the Sri Lankan’s declared their second innings for a total of 181. Pakistan was given a target of 254 runs in 57 overs. Pakistan just made 81 and lost 4 wickets in reply and the match ended in a draw and Pakistan ended in a draw.

Credit goes to the Pakistani team and especially to Misbah ul Haq, the skipper lead the team in a fantastic way and played important innings in the matches too. Saeed Ajmal and Kumara Sangakkara were both awarded Player’s of the series for their terrific performances throughout the tournament.

The One day series will start from 11^th November, let’s see what happens in the one day series. Pakistan will have the services of former captain Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzak, the two experienced players, we will have to wait and see what will happen till then bye bye. . . . . . . . . . .

RIP MARCO SIMONCELLI. . . . . . .

A bizarre incident took place at this sunday's Moto GP in Sepang, Malaysia when the race was called off because of the incident which proved fatal for the young Italian Gresini Honda rider Marco Simoncelli. The incident happened at the second lap when Marco lost the control of his bike while trying to make a move on the bike ahead him and collided with Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. Both the riders ran almost ran over him, it was so hard that Marco's helmet came off his head too. Sadly at 4:56pm local time it was announced that the Italian rider died because of severe head, neck and chest injuries. Colin Edwards also suffered with a dislocated shoulder.

Being a big motorsports fan and then looking at the safety standards of MotoGP I must say that they are very unsatisfactory, and eventhough with all those advancements teh sport is still a very risky one and most importantly there is nothing you can do about it because it the nature of the sport, the two wheel racing is far dangerous then four wheel sport. here I must also give credit to FIA for making Formula 1 very safe in recent years we have seen so many horrifying accidents of Kubica, Ralf Schumacher, Webber etc to one even got a bruise, ever since the death of Seena they have concentrated on safety alot which is proving itself now. Now after a second fatal crash in two weeks ( the first one of Dan Wheldon, the Indycar racer who died last sunday at Las Vegas) the FIA must seriously think on safety issues specially regarding the two wheel racing series.

Anyways, Marco Simoncelli will always be remembered as a tough rider, he was a very quick qualifier and also got two podiums this year the second was in his last race when he came home second, But the way he left us that don't make any sense. . . . . . .

F1: Belgian Grand Prix Updates

Let’s have a look at what’s happening in the F1 world as the teams are at one of the most spectacular track of the season the Spa fancorchamps

Just as Friday rain is expected in the qualifying session.

Micheal Schumacher will be celebrating his 20^th anniversary

Nick Heidfeld has been dropped out of the team for two race and Bruno Senna will fill his place. The Brazilian who is the nephew of the Ex F1 legend Ayrton Senna is getting his second chance in F1 circuit. Meanwhile Nick Hieldfeld has launched legal proceedings against the Renault team claiming that he has a main driver contract with the team.

My verdict: Although I’m not a big fan of Nick as he’s not a delivering any strong performance since years ( I don’t remember any of his appreciable performance since 2006) and should feel very lucky to be in the Formula One circuit but still the Renault team should have taken him in confidence regarding this matter. Let’s see what happens).

Mclaren is hoping for a better qualifying session as the track has two long starights and the Mercedes engines are regarded the best as far as top speed is concerned. I think, stage is set for a Mclaren victory but lets see which driver comes on top this time.

Tennis: Murray and Sharapova wins titles in Cincinnati Masters

It was the Briton’s first title of the season where he defeated the World Number 1 Novak Djokovic who got injured and retired from match. Whereas Russia’s Maria Sharapova defeated Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Murray won the first set 6-4 and was leading the second set 3-0 when the Serb called it quit who was in clear discomfort from the very first set. Later Djokovic said that he did not wanted to risk himself for the US Open which will start on 29^th August. It was the second loss of the Serb this season, he’s having a terrific season winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and reaching the semi final of the French open where he was defeated by Roger Federer. Murray will enter the US Open with high hopes as the conditions are very similar to those in New York.

In the women event Russia’s Maria Sharapova defeated Jelena Jankovic in a thriller which saw both the player breaking each other’s serve 8 times but the Russian came on top with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory to clinch her second title of the season prior to Rome masters.

The 24 year old Russian was leading the first set 4-1 until the Serb fought back to win the next five games and the set by 6-4. The next set went to tie-breaker, in which Sharapova overcame the Serbian to win it 7-3. The first six games of the 3^rd set were all broken by both the players until Sharapova managed to to win her serve and lead the set 4-3 and eventually the set and the match y 6-3. Sharapova will now enter the Us Open as a hot favorite.

F1: BUTTON MASTERS THE CHANGING CONDITIONS IN BUDAPEST

The Briton started his 200^th grand prix from 3^rd place and took the lead on lap 47 which was a result of brilliant strategy calls.

Vettel started off from pole and led the first four laps of the race in very tricky conditions where everyone on the field was on the intermediate tyres. Vettel from the very first lap was struggling to keep position to Hamilton who was flying behind him, he made an error in lap 4 which costed him first position to Lewis. In lap 10-11 Button managed to pass Vettel in the pits for 2^nd place. On lap 36 button started applying pressure on Hamilton and started setting faster lap times than Hamilton, which prompted Hamilton to make a early pit stop in lap 40 and it was surely the right move but what happened wrong was that he once again opted for the option tyres (the super soft compound) which proved to be a disastrous decision as the conditions did not support them at all. Meanwhile Button pitted in two laps later in lap 42 and went for the prime tyres which were the soft compound tyres and once again started closing gap on his teammate and eventually on lap 47 took the lead by overtaking him, Hamilton also had a big spin in that very lap. After that, once again it started to rain in Budapest, Mclaren asked its drivers to pit in for yet another intermediates, the manufactured Hamilton pitted in where as Button opted to stay out. This move didn’t worked for Hamilton either, as the rain lasted for only one single lap, after that Hamilton’s tyres started to fade away and he had to make another stop for tyres taking his total tally of stops to five. Button knew that he had a comfortable lead and cruised to take the chaqured flag to mark his career’s 11^th victory, second of the season. Vettel came second and added 20 precious points to strengthen his championship campaign, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso came 3^rd, Hamilton after making all those mistakes still managed to take 4^th position ahead of Mark Webber who also gambled for the intermediates in the later part of the race. Felipe Massa brought his car in 6^th place. Paul Di Resta drove a wonderful race to take 7^th place. Nico Rosberg drove a poor race and finished 9^th, his teammate Micheal Schumacher was once again faster than him in the race but was not able to show that in the position as his race came to an early end on lap 26 due to a gear box problem.

Once again Button mastered the changing conditions and what a way to finish off your 200^th grand prix. In 2006, in this very circuit Button recorded his first grand prix win ,and guess what that was also a rain damped race. He proved the saying right once again,that who needs speed when you’ve got brain.

MY OPINION:

Button is a underrated driver. And once again it was proved that the manufactured guy (Hamilton) needs a lot more to become a complete driver. The team can help you become fast but they can’t give you BRAINS. . . Red bull all of a sudden looks off colour and Mclaren has made a clear step forward with their developments. Ferrari has been a big disappointment Alonso took 3^rd position but he was not able to fight with the front runners. Now it’s a break for a month and let’s see which team comes on top after the break in one of the most beautiful circuit of the calendar which is Spa Francorchamp on 28^th of August till then Byeeeee. . . . . . . . . . . . .

CRICKET: THE RETURN OF MALIK

Shoaib Maiik, the former Pakistan cricket team captain has been given green signal to play cricket for his country after the integral committee cleared him of the charges made against him.

The 29 year old all-rounder from Sialkot, who represented his country in 32 tests and 192 One day Internationals, will now be the part of the Pakistan cricket team for the forth coming series against Zimbabwe which will start on 1^st September. It would be good for Malik to make a return against a relatively weaker team in order to build confidence and to get into groove.

The newly appointed captain Misbah ul Haq, is also believed to be a supporter of the former captain and is also one of the reasons for his return.

MY PRIDICTION:

Being a big supporter of Shoaib Malik, I think this decision will prove to be a good one for the team. The middle order batting will get strengthened through Mailk’s inclusion of the former world number 1 all-rounder, so will be the bowling and fielding. My prediction (that I made 3-4 months ago) that Malik will return as a captain soon, didn’t came true but still I think Malik will be appointed the captain of Pakistan Cricket team for the limited over formats in the coming days.

BOXING: KHAN OVERPOWERS JUDAH TO UNIFY THE TITLES

The eyes of every boxing fan was on the event that was to take place on the 23rd of July 2011 at the Mandley Bay in Las vagas and it was the fight between the WBA Light Welterweight Champion Amir "King" Khan and the IBF light Welterweight Champion Zeb Judah. The fight was made in an attempt to unify both the titles.

Khan, 24, overwhelmingly defeated the 33 year old veteran Zeb Judah. Amir Khan was in control all through the fight and didn't made a foot wrong in the 5 round fight and eventually knocked Judah out in the 5th round with a body punch.

Khan who was fighting his third fight in the United States lashed hi speedy attack on Judah from the very first round and in the 2nd round gave Judah a strong left hander under his opponent's right eye. From there Judah got on the back foot. Khan won all the rounds convincingly by the points. in the 5th round khan gave Judah a strong right hander which made Judah bowed down a bit, Khan saw an opportunity a gave a strong right hander on the waist of the American boxer which proved to be the decisive one. That was Khan's 18th KO in 28 matches.

After the fight Khan said that he open the attact early on and was able to give some good punches in the first two rounds but after the that left hander that landed below his (Judah) eye he could clearly see that the confidence in Judah's eyes vanished away and knew that it would be over anytime. A controversy began that the the punch that KO'd judah was a low one, to that Amir said that its clear in the reply that it was right on the waist belt. talking about his future fights Amir said that he wants to fight Tim Bradly and he also offered him to split the money50-50 but still he's not willing to fight means that he's just simply scared of him(Amir) and also said that it will not be long enough when he will move into the next weight category. Judah said that he was not able to listen the count and just listened the referee say OVER!!!

In a TV show "Lopez Tonight" Amir said that he thinks that Judah was wearing the belt a bit higher and if he thinks that, that was a lower blow then he must have hihg b*lls!!!!!!

The fight clearly showed that Amir Khan is in a league of his own and that Zeb Judah was just not that good enough to handle the british sensation. Amir Khan the British boxer who belongs to Pakistani decent was successful in unifying the WBA & IBF Light Welterweight belts and is now the unified WBA & IBF Light Welterweight Champion.

Amir fought a very nice fight and didn't went that hard, sticked to his game plan which shows that he is getting matured fight by fight. In every fight we witness an improved Amir Khan. My opinion is that Amir should fight Timothy Bradley or someone else before getting his hands on Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Congratulations to Amir and wish him all the best for the future.

SAADI IS BACK. . . . . . .

After a much anticipated wait Saad Iqbal is back with his masterful comments and analysis of the things going around the World of Sports. Saad Iqbal was not able to update his blog because of his studies, but now he's on vactions and will give time to the blog. Saadiz World Of Sport (saadiz-worldofsports.blogspot.com) will soon upload some of the spectacular events that took place in past couple of weeks and which will happen in the future. So stay tuned to get the latest news and views from the expert analyst.