John Daly (Image: Zuma Press)

But last year’s incident wasn’t the only transgression on Daly’s record while playing in Australia.  In 2002, at the Australian PGA Championships, Daly threw his putter and ball into a greenside pond following a triple-bogey 7, then failed to sign for a 78 on his scorecard, thus disqualifying him from the tournament.  All of which prompted Daly to verbally abuse an official, for which he received a fine by the Australasian PGA Tour.  He later wrote a letter of apology to the official.

While Daly’s game hasn’t been anything to write home about, there’s one thing the Australian fans can count on from the human train wreck big hitter on tour…he’s sure to make the Australian Open more than memorable.

Post from: EveryJoe

Daly Set to Return to Aussie Open

Greg Norman (Image: Zuma Press)

Along with his commitment to the Australian Open, Norman has also signed on as an ambassador for Tourism NSW.  Australian Open officials are hoping that with Norman in the field, more of the marquee players will be inclined to participate in the tournament.  Norman himself hopes that the top Australian players will follow his lead and return for the Sydney event.

Norman and his wife, former tennis star Chris Evert, have been in Australia for nearly three weeks, touring the areas of Victoria state that had been destroyed by bushfires, and speaking with survivors of the February fires that killed 173 people and destroyed over 2000 homes.

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Greg Norman to Return to Australian Open

So the Australian Open finished off with the results I had predicted in this post. Masha, aka, Maria Sharapova sailed through to the trophy. As I said, nobody in the tournament weiled the kind of power she did, and on the men’s side, Djoker, aka, Novak Djokovic, got the better of suprise finalist Tsonga. We had been pretty much hooked to the tournament, so much so that we missed out on a lot of cricket. With the Commenwealth Bank Series on, we’re back to bats and balls.

Anyway, lots of things happened during the Border-Gavaskar Series, and some of it wasn’t pleasant. And it lead me to compare a few aspects of our favorite game to tennis. There are quite a few things ICC, the various local cricket authorities, and the players can learn from racquets and balls.

* Off-season: We’re a big fan of this one. There was next to no tennis in November and December. This time of the year is off-season for the game. After the US Open, the number of tournaments declines sharply and by the time it’s November, the tennis world is alreading on vocation. The tennis season, after this temporary halt, unofficially kicks off in January with the tournaments building up to the Australian Open. The players and viewers get back to the game with revived enthusiasm. Cricket is played all the year round with no break in between. There are obvious downsides to this, but they deserve a post of their own.

*Mutual Respect: Respect for opponents is something that has been missing in the game recently. Everyone saw what happened between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds, how Ricky Ponting and other players on the Australian side took to swords. That was the on-field story, but the trend of psychological war of words off the field is worth a mention, too. There is nothing seriously wrong with trying to bring down the morale of the opponent, but look at the tennis players. At pre-match conferences, they’re not telling us why their opponents suck or why they have an edge over them, but why that opponent will be difficult to win over. There’s a sense of respect for the opponents, both on and off the court.

* Women are powerful: Tennis’s popularity today is largely due to the women’s tennis. What if women’s cricket was given equal importance as the men’s cricket? First off, it would encourage women to take it up as a career, and second, it would help the game get female readership. You can’t match the glamour of miniskirts and spaghetti tops with trousers and half-sleeved tee-shirts, but women’s cricket is worth giving a try. The most popular and rich sports have all progressive women’s circuits as well– golf and football being two examples.

* Integrative training: Cricket is both physically and mentally exhausting. Shaun Tait proves that. Besides the usual training, there should be some yoga, pilates, etc. Ingtegrative training is big in tennis. Maria Sharapova spends two hours after every match with her trainer who does acupressure and allied stuff.

Obviously, there are lots of things tennis can learn from cricket, but that’s outside the scope of this talk.

Fan Question: What other sports do you think cricket can learn from?

Post from: EveryJoe

What Cricket Can Learn From Tennis?

I have a secret to share. I have been following the tennis over this week. And not cricket. Don’t worry. Cricket is still my first love.

Anyway, Roger lost. That happens every once in a while, but it usually doesn’t in a Grand Slam. Djoker got the better of him. Good for him. He’s in his prime, and there’s a peak time in every sportsman’s career, however mediocre he may be, when they knock off the greats even. I’m not writing off Djoker, but I still believe he’s no threat to the King. King is slightly out of the zone, I suppose. He’s had to fight his way through the Open, rather than breeze along, which is customary of him. But  it’s good to see new kids take away trophies every once in a while. Kind of keeps the game from getting too predictable.

Djoker meets Tsonga, a young Frenchman, the surprise package of this tournament. Tsonga hits hard, and I’m amused by his motivation. On the ladies front, Sharapova will claim her third Grand Slam on Saturday. When I saw her against Henin, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind who’s going to claim the title. Tell you what, this kind of speed and power comes only after weeks of sweating exactly before a big tournament. This is a totally different Maria from the 2007 US Open.

On to cricket and Sachin: It’s a delight to see another one of my heroes taking the reins this time. Didn’t watch him, but compels me to say again: Old is gold.

Post from: EveryJoe

Sachin and Federer: My Two Heroes

Yes, we’ve talked about players getting injured and dead beat due to nonstop playing, but on the other end, the spectators are getting a little tired of watching, too. Just like players need a break from playing, I personally feel I need a break from watching it, too, sometimes.

Of course, this is how the ICC’s system works, but couldn’t they make room for some off-time during November and December when no international cricket is played? Just like the WTA and ATP are approaching their end season. When the Australian Open starts next year, everybody is going to be all excited for the next season. Even with football, they have intervals between international tournaments.

What’s the point with playing so much cricket? If they want to make more money, maybe they could have a few more T20 cups.

Post from: EveryJoe

Too much cricket these days?