This is Al-Awwal Park ristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabia not the familiar Madrid outlook. Not the nostalgic framing of Old Trafford either. This is Al-Awwal Park, its surface lit in a white that looks rehearsed by brilliant Saudi floodlights. The custodian shifts. Ronaldo strikes back. The store doesn’t scream right away. It waits there. Too many … Read more
A few blocks away in Dhaka Lionel Messi’s Legacy a few blocks away in Dhaka, a few young guys went off so loud that someone yelled at them from a window after he scored against Mexico on a low shot through people. Not too shabby. A little bit. And it went on, even after the … Read more
This is where WrestleMania X-Seven will take place WWE WrestleMania somewhere along the line, the company had a change of ownership without any formal announcement. The Attitude Era didn’t need to ask permission. Ladders swingin’ like they got somethin’ personal to prove. The Rock’s eyebrow. Stone Cold’s broken glass. This is where WrestleMania X-Seven will … Read more
When the arena lights go out When the arena lights go out, it is the sound, not the images, that changes first. Roman Reigns comes out slow, almost methodical, as if he already knows the ending to the bout that’s somewhere in the future. A low pulse can be heard from the speakers. The finger … Read more
CM Punk vs Roman Reigns Royal Rumble opens the file. Punk is twenty-eight years old and he’s already got fifteen eliminations under his belt before he even steps into the ring. He draws an early number and survives the chaos longer than anyone expected. He walks in and the temperature of the place shifts. Four … Read more
Cody Rhodes this title run has one problem that is. It moves on his watch. For years, Roman Reigns set the pace like a South Asian metronome that fans couldn’t turn off. Long matches, late kick-outs, the slow grind to inevitability. Instead of trying to out-Roman Roman, Rhodes stepped into that shadow. He changed the … Read more
O’Sullivan replies immediately. A 105 clearing that looks sloppy at first, a red that most players avoid during this part of the game. He rises a little early after the last black, as if the decision had been taken somewhere in the middle of the break. When he plays like that, it doesn’t matter if … Read more
Half a second’s wait, slack safety catch on the baulk cushion, and Zhao Xintong is in the next red. He did not hesitate. Older players still seem to have the table map in their minds as a second language, but they don’t look back at it. Again the cue is down low and the cue … Read more
There have been periods of control, confusion, back-to-back ducks, and finally, an unbeaten hundred that silenced everything. Virat Kohli has accumulated a tally of 542 runs from 13 innings, averaging 54.20 with a strike-rate of 164.74. All of these statistics are proof enough to justify Kohli being one of those batsmen who are valued by … Read more
Surya Kumar YADAV he came into the season one of the most dangerous T20 hitters out there, a guy who changes the geometry of the field as well as runs. The third man is never safe. Fine leg provides no safety. Extra cover is almost compulsory. “Captains are not setting fields against Suryakumar. They are … Read more