Comment

Odds won’t even out
Betting in sports has become the talk. Rigging and match-fixing have been on a high in 2011. There was nothing to make the year more memorable than India winning the World Cup.

MS Dhoni and company started as fourth favourites in the international bookmakers’ market, while patriotism prevailed for Indian bookies, who had pinned hopes on their country. However, for the first time in many years, the bookies took the beating and the punters came out triumphant.

During the quarterfinals against Australia, one of the punters had placed big money and even pawned his house in Bandra on an India win. And after the match, he told this reporter that he had four big flats similar to the one he had. This happens rarely. On the horse racing front, it was the other way round — punters are never the winners. Most of the public choice failed to catch the judges’ eye. And to rub more salt on these punters’ wounds, the Maharashtra government raised the tax on betting in race course by 20 per cent. But, this did not make much of a difference for them, as most of (us) or the punters look for easy money. No matter whether it is cricket, football or horse racing, money in betting does not come back as one would think. But people keep betting and fall deep in debts.
—Joe Williams

When drunken driving was ‘legal’
For someone who knew nothing about sports, my joining the sports desk was termed suicidal by many. But my teammates’ encouragement was definitely a breather. And given that I joined the desk two weeks into the World Cup, the time was indeed ripe. While the experts in office were dissecting each and every delivery, I was trying to learn the jargons.

For me, the defining moment of the year came on April 2. The last 20 minutes of the World Cup final were mind-numbing. Every soul in the office was frozen. No one moved a finger and the deadline — very sacrosanct in a journalist’s life — wasn’t an issue. And then there was a six which helped India rewrite history.

But the real celebrations were out there on the streets. We decided to head out and have a ball. Bumper-to-bumper traffic welcomed us but for a change, no one was complaining. People were sitting on top of their cars with beer bottles and what not.

That night, drunken driving was ‘legal’. Everyone was everyone else’s friend. After all, we were under the starry sky for the same reason. Whoever said cricket unites people was dead right. That was the best party I’d been to.
— Namita Handa

Is Mumbai a sporting hub?
Cooperage and the Mahindra Hockey Stadium hold a special place in my heart. Cooperage was where I saw my first live football match while it was at Mahindra that I made my debut in a competitive tie, representing my school. That, though, seems like ages ago.

Barely a couple of kilometres apart, both the venues — of high significance for the very existence of these sports in Mumbai — are undergoing a makeover, rendering them completely useless since the start of 2011.

It’s hard to recall when was the last time the local sports scenario in Mumbai was as insipid as last year.

Very few marquee events have taken place, a thing of concern for a city that boasts about a rich sporting culture.

So what’s wrong? While the lack of open spaces does not deserve a reiteration here, the reasons for this can be attributed to the high organisational costs and poor existing facilities. The fact that the city does not provide bulk accommodation to athletes is also a problem that needs to be addressed.

A case in point here would be the Mumbai Fighters, who stay at the Balewadi Sports Complex, from where they drive down to Malad for each match day.

With the city struggling to upgrade its facilities while keeping it available for all at reasonable rates, Pune (Balewadi) and, to a certain extent, Bangalore (SAI Centre) have done just that to emerge as the country’s top sporting destinations.

So, as we mark the beginning of a New Year, the question that begs an answer is, is Mumbai a sporting hub anymore?
— Mihir Vasavda

Kochi Tuskers deserved a better deal
Kochi Tuskers Kerala was my favourite IPL team. Its owners were an affable set of rich men who, I thought, were more sinned against than sinning.Despite all their headline-grabbing activities, they were a forlorn bunch. I mourned the team’s demise.

I had my ‘sources’ in the franchise. I used to get calls from the Middle East and South East Asian countries. Whenever a story was needed, I gleefully tapped those sources.

Although there were a few splinter sections, the consortium was split vertically into two factions. The stronger group did things the way it wished and that understandably did not go down well with its rivals. The messiness around the team was due to this trust deficiency. Stories were planted in the media with impunity.

One day I got a call from an owner asking me if a particular co-owner was on his side. “You can know from your sources, within the team and within the BCCI,” he purred. “Sorry,” I retorted.