Tendulkar the real match winner

When ever tendulkar scores a ton india losses ?
FACT:india has won 32 matches out of 45 when tendulkar has scored a ton which is a whopping 71%

Q 2)oh is it ? but this useless player should have scored all his 32 match winning centuries against weaker teams like bangla/kenya/zim?
FACT: His tons have helped india win 9 times against australia.list is as follows -
australia--9, new zealand --5, srilanks -5, kenya -4, zimbabwe-4, west indies-3, south africa-2, pakistan-1 & namibia -1

Q 3) : All most all of his match winning centuries were scored batting second this choker cant score a run while chasing under pressure ?

Fact: Tendulkar has scored 17 tons while chasing a huge score & india has won 15 times ( unbelievable 88 %).some of his most popular innings while chasing , the one against aus in WB series downunder & the one in sharjah , the innings against pakistan in wc,

Q 4)May be this was long time back ,BUt in recent times whenever he has scored a ton we have lost ?
FACT:India has won last 4 matches out of 5 when he has scored a century ( 80%)

FACT: Tendulkar has won 60 MOM's out of which in india has won 54 times (90%), & 8 times he got MOM award in the finals ( Hold ur breath 100 % success rate , all were won ) . All other so called indian greats combined have played close to 1000 matches & n have not won 60 mom & won so many matches for india . APart from this he has be named man of the series 16 times.

Cricket Schedule 2010 : India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand & Bangladesh

In Year 2010, cricket calender is packed with a Twenty20 world cup in month of April in West Indies, Asia cup which is an ODI tournament played between all asian country, several bilateral tours like South Africa, New Zealand & Australia tour of India which includes test series and T20 games and one or two triseries as well. and on top of all, Australia and England resume their battle for urn, the Ashes 2010, to be played in Australia this time from the month of November.

Australia also tour England for a series of one day internationals while England play host to Pakistan vs Australia test series after a long gap. Bangladeshi team will have their busiest cricketing season while Indian cricket team will indulge into Indian Premier League (IPL), Champions League T20 along with their International commitments.

England Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

Months	Versus	Matches	Fixtures & Result
January	England in South Africa	4 tests + 5 ODI + T20	Eng in SA 2010
February-March	England in Bangladesh	2 tests + 3 ODIs	Eng in Bdesh 2010
April	T20 WC in West Indies	Twenty20 World cup	World T20 2010
May	Bangladesh in England	2 Test + 3 ODI	Bdesh in Eng 2010
June	Australia in England	5 ODI Series	Aus in Eng 2010
Aug-Sept	Pakistan in England	4 test & 5 ODI	Pak in Eng 2010
Nov-Dec	England in Australia	Ashes 2011	Ashes 2010

India Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

January	India in Bangladesh	2 Test + Triseries	India in Bdesh 2010
February-March	South Africa in India	3 Test + 5 ODI	SA in Ind 2010
April	Asia Cup	ODI Tournament	Asia Cup 2010
April	T20 WC in West Indies	Twenty20 World Cup	World T20 2010
May	India in Zimbabwe	3 ODI Series	Ind in Zim 2010
July	India in Sri Lanka	Triseries	Ind v NZ v SL
October	Australia in India	7 ODI Series	Aus in Ind 2010
November	New Zealand in India	3 Test + 5 ODI	NZ in Ind 2010

Australia Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

January	Pakistan in Australia	3 Test + 5 ODI + T20	Pak in Aus 2010
February	West Indies in Australia	5 ODI + T20	WI in Aus 2010
March-April	Australia in New Zealand	3 Test + 5 ODI + 2 T20s	Aus in NZ 2010
April	T20 World Cup in WI	Twenty20 World Cup	World T20 2010
June	Australia in England	5 ODI Series	Aus in Eng 2010
July	Pak v Aus in Eng	2 Test & 3 ODI	Pak v Aus 2010
August	Bangladesh in Australia	2 Test & 3 ODI	Bdesh in Aus 2010
October	Australia in India	7 ODI series	Aus in Ind 2010
November	England in Australia	5 Test Series	Ashes 2010-11

Pakistan Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

January	Pakistan in Australia	3 Test + 5 ODI + T20	Pak in Aus 2010
April	Asia Cup	ODI Tournament	Asia Cup 2010
April	T20 World cup in West Indies	Twenty20 World Cup	World T20 2010
July	Pak v Aus in Eng	2 Test & 3 ODI	Pak v Aus 2010
Aug-Sept	Pakistan v England	4 test & 5 ODI	Pak in Eng 2010
October	Bangladesh in Pakistan	2 Test + 3 ODI	Bdesh in Pak 2010
November	South Africa in Pakistan	3 Test + 5 ODI	SA in Pak 2010

New Zealand Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

February	Bangladesh in New Zealand	1 Test, 3 ODI, 2 T20	Bdesh in NZ 2010
March-April	Australia in New Zealand	Test + ODI + T20	Aus in NZ 2010
April	T20 World cup in West Indies	Twenty20 World Cup	WC T20 2010
July	New Zealand in Sri Lanka	Triseries	Ind v NZ v SL
October	New Zealand in Bangladesh	2 Test + 3 ODI	NZ in Bdesh 2010
November	New Zealand in India	3 Test + 5 ODI	NZ in Ind 2010

Sri Lanka Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

January	Srilanka in Bangladesh	Triseries	Ind v SL v Bdesh
April	Asia Cup	ODI Tournament	Asia Cup 2010
April	T20 World cup in West Indies	Twenty20 World Cup	WC T20 2010
July	India & New Zealand in Sri Lanka	Tri Series	Ind v NZ v SL
Nov-Dec	West Indies in Sri Lanka	3 Test + 5 ODI	WI in SL 2010

South Africa Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

January	England in South Africa	4 Test + 5 ODI	Eng in SA 2010
February-March	South Africa in India	3 Test + 5 ODI	SA in Ind 2010
April	T20 World cup in WI	Twenty20 World Cup	WC T20 2010
May-June	South Africa in West Indies	4 Test + 5 ODI	SA in WI 2010
September	Zimbabwe in South Africa	ODI Series	Zim in SA 2010
Oct-Nov	South Africa in Pakistan	3 Test + 5 ODI	SA in Pak 2010

West Indies Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

February	West Indies in Australia	5 ODI + T20	WI in Aus 2010
March	Zimbabwe in West Indies	ODI Series	Zim in WI 2010
April	T20 World cup in West Indies	Twenty20 World Cup	WC T20 2010
May-June	South Africa in West Indies	4 Test + 5 ODI	SA in WI 2010
July - August	West Indies tour of England	4 Test + 5 ODI	WI in Eng 2010
Nov-Dec	West Indies in Sri Lanka	3 Test + 5 ODI	WI in SL 2010

Bangladesh Cricket Schedule : Year 2010

January	SL & Ind in Bdesh	ODI Triseries	Ind v SL v Bdesh
January	India in Bangladesh	2 Tests	Ind in Bdesh 2010
February	Bangladesh tour of New Zealand	Test + ODI + T20	Bdesh in NZ 2010
March	England in Bdesh	Test + ODI	Eng in Bdesh 2010
April	Asia Cup	ODI Tournament	Asia cup 2010
April	T20 World cup in West Indies	Twenty20 World cup	World T20 2010
May	Bangladesh in England	2 Test + 3 ODI	Bdesh in Eng 2010
July	Bangladesh in Australia	2 Tests	Bdesh in Aus 2010
August	Bangladesh in Pakistan	2 Test + 3 ODI	Bdesh in Pak 2010
October	New Zealand in Bangladesh	2 Test + 3 ODI	NZ in Bdesh 2010

India's Tibet or China's Tibet?

There is a Chinese propaganda magazine called ‘China’s Tibet’. This is a clear example of how insecure China feels - not only about its hold over Tibet but more fundamentally even about its claims over Tibet. Fifty years after the invasion, forty years after the flight of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government; with an estimated half-a-million troops in Tibet and not a single foreign government openly questioning China’s military and colonial occupation of Tibet - it is indeed instructive that China still feels the need to call Tibet - ‘China’s Tibet’. No doubt, in addition to trying to reassure themselves, this is primarily an effort to convince the world that Tibet ‘belongs’ to China. In my view it has precisely the opposite effect.

People have often wondered why India doesn’t stake its claim on Tibet. Between China - which seeks to exterminate the Tibetan people and to wipe out Tibetan religion and culture; and India - which gave Tibet the Buddha Dharma and has helped to save Tibetan religion and culture - there is no doubt; India has the greater claim. It is like the story of young Prince Siddhartha who saves the swan his cousin Prince Devadatta has shot. The claim of the latter rests on the grounds of having shot the swan. On the other hand, Prince Siddhartha - the future Buddha - stakes his claim on the grounds of having saved the life of the wounded swan. The King rightly awards the swan to Prince Siddhartha. In today’s world of realpolitik and spineless world leaders, we could hardly hope for such a decisive verdict. Nevertheless; even if only as a diplomatic exercise, why doesn’t India file a case in the International Court of Justice and also raise the issue in the United Nations to stake its claims over Tibet ? In the first place India gave Buddhism to Tibet - the life-force of Tibetan life and culture. Today India has rendered crucial assistance and helped to save Tibetan religion and culture. If Tibet must belong to either of its giant neighbors, then surely, it should be to India - which has helped to save Tibet.

Rosaiah is here to stay as AP CM

The man who was content playing second fiddle to his "younger friend" Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is now the new Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in his place. The senior most Congress leader in the state, part of successive party governments since 1979, Andhra Finance Minister Konijeti Rosaiah, 77, will hold charge till the party has decided on a successor for YSR.

The Finance Minister in YSR's first term too, Rosaiah holds the record for presenting 15 budgets in Congress regimes and is like the Andhra unit's Pranab Mukherjee — a constant, stable and able presence who has kept a low profile and stayed away from controversies in a political career spanning more than 50 years.

He refused to contest the 2009 Assembly elections and was nominated to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council instead. When YSR again allotted the Finance portfolio to him after the May 2009 victory, Rosaiah joked he was happy with Finance and with letting YSR handle the headaches of the top post. With YSR he presented three budgets, including one vote-on-account budget six months before the elections.

Belonging to Vemuru in Guntur district, Rosaiah belongs to the trader community and began as a student leader. In 1979, he first became a minister, and was given the Roads and Buildings portfolio by Marri Channa Reddy. Rosaiah went on to hold various portfolios in the Cabinets of Tanguturi Anjaiah, K Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy and N Janardhana Reddy. From 1995 to 1997, he was the president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee. In 1998, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Narsaraopeta.

He is known for his administrative skills and deep knowledge about party matters. During his vote-on-account speech, he quoted Paul Krugman, saying that it is because of his prescription in times of the slowdown that the government had allocated much more to irrigation and housing for the poor.

In his budget speech, he noted that from the time Andhra was formed (in 1956) till now, it had gone from being the worst state as far as economic indices go, to become the country's fastest growing.

The senior congress leader is not only a seasoned politician but a man of few words. He does not like to remain in the limelight. And never plays cheap tricks to hog the limelight.

Rosaiah is one of the rare bred of politicians, who commands respect not only in his party but cutting across party lines. But the TDP seems to have gone a bit too far this time. The TDP said that Rosaiah is all the time seen singing peens in praise of YSR and Sonia and Rosaiah says why not.

Rosaiah is considered as a weak canddiae by party men as he does not lead any groups in the party. His age and experience are what led to the party high command to induct him in the first place.

Rosaiah’s caste is also now proving to be blessing in disguise. Rosaiah belongs to the Vysya community. The congress party in the state has all along seen a bitter fight among Reddy and Kamma people for supremacy and the top job.

The MLAs may once again form groups among caste lines and this will only delay the decision over the next chief minister. Till a consensus is arrived at, Rosaiah will continue to be the Rosaiah’s weakness is turning out to be his strength for him.

The Chief Minister K Rosaiah is now slowly but surely taking full control over the administration. Rosaiah was seen as just a stop gap CM who would be around for about a week or 10 days.

The high command has now decided to retain Rosaiah for some more time. The party has given enough hints that Rosaiah is here to say. The party spokesman in Delhi said that Rosaiah was not an acting CM but a full fledged CM.

Rosaiah has now decided to move to the ‘C’ Block in the Secretariat that houses the chief minister’s office. Rosaiah has also announced that from today he will work for 14 hours every day – from 6.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.

It means that the CM aspirant YS Jagan will have to cool his heels for some more time keeping his supporters on tenterhooks.

Chief Minister K Rosaiah is moving his pawns carefully and cautiously in retaining his seat, at least for another year.

Several industrialists have started lobbying with the Congress high command to see that he is continued in the CM’s post. Prominent among them is said to be Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, chairman of GMR group, which has now made New Delhi as his headquarters. GMR group owner of IPL Delhi Daredevils team is engaged in several Central and state government works, including modernisation of New Delhi airport and therefore, has high level connections in the Congress. He is strongly backing Rosaiah’s candidature. Among others who are lobbying for Rosaiah are: Sanghi group, having the backing of former Speaker Balram Jakhar and Rayalaseema Paper Mills promoted by MLA T G Venkatesh.

It is for the first time that a person belonging to Vysya community has got a chance to become the CM, and hence, the community leaders do not want to lose the opportunity. Secondly, the Andhra lobby is also strongly supporting him, because after a long long time, a leader from coastal Andhra could get into the top seat, breaking the Rayalaseema dominance!

Despite the clamour by his own Cabinet colleagues and majority of MLAs for making Jaganmohan YSR's successor, Rosaiah is cool as cucumber, for he knows that he has all blessings of the high command.

"I am not a stop-gap chief minister. I have been appointed as full-fledged chief minister by the Congress high command. In fact, there is no such thing as interim CM or caretaker CM in the Constitution. I am here to stay in this post as long as the high command wants me," Rosaiah said.

The 77-year-old veteran with more than half a decade of experience in politics, is unperturbed by Jagan's attempts to show his strength. He dismissed a 1,00,000-strong public meeting Jagan held near Pavuralagutta in the Nallamalla forests on Friday. "Jagan's show of strength is obviously an attempt to lobby with the high command for the chief minister's post. In a democracy, there is nothing wrong in having high ambitions... (but) I am not worried about it," he said.

Though Rosaiah has been discharging his duties for the last three weeks, many of his ministers and MLAs are still running around Jaganmohan. A few of them are still in Idupulapaya estate in Kadapa district, where Jaganmohan is camping right now.

Rosaiah is watching these developments closely.

"Many ministers and MLAs feel that Jaganmohan should take over as the next chief minister. He was elected by the people of Kadapa for the Lok Sabha. Their mandate is that he should be an MP. He is still young and has a long way to go," he said.

Rosaiah has now decided to move to the ‘C’ Block in the Secretariat that houses the chief minister’s office. Rosaiah has also announced that from today he will work for 14 hours every day – from 6.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.

It means that the CM aspirant YS Jagan will have to cool his heels for some more time keeping his supporters on tenterhooks.

He, however, expressed the view that the sooner the high command ends the uncertainty, the better for the Congress.

Legacy of YSR

India has lost one of its most powerful Chief Ministers in the country in form of YS Rajashekhara Reddy. It is not often in the current political scenario that Chief Ministers are re-elected, but Reddy was one of them. His untimely death has naturally attracted heart felt condolences from all quarters.

In a state like Andhra Pradesh which has a record in throwing out of power, the most powerful of the leaders, Reddy was able to return to power and that too with a stunning victory.

In 2004, Reddy brought the Congress 29 seats and in 2009 he brought 33 seats. So the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is what it is due to YSR's contribution. One of the crucial takeaways from his legacy is that regional leadership should never be crushed. The Congress high command had tremendous faith in him. More than faith it was freedom and a freehand that Reddy enjoyed, which is something not many regional satraps have. If you don't consider politics a morality play then he was a consummate politician. He had everything that a politician ought to have. The ability to get power, preserve and perpetuate it.

He was greatly admired because he provided a mirror to contemporary politicians on how to handle factions within one's own party. His greatest contribution was to minimise the impact of the power of factions during his chief ministership. He enjoyed a certain freedom from 10 Janpath. And that led to a firmness in his decisions on issues like Telangana. He said no to it, come what may.

He was arguably the tallest of the regional Satraps in Congress. The party has unfortunately lost many of its tallest leaders in their peak in accidents. Reddy lost the battle of life just 100 days after he brought laurels for his party. It will not be out of place to mention here that he had succeeded another ‘charismatic’ leader in form of Chandrababu Naidu who had been hailed as the best ‘CEO’ in politics by the Corporate India. Yet he not only succeeded but also managed to bring laurels for his party but also emerge as its face across the nation. He had his shares of controversies, like Naidu but he was a mass leader, a dynamic leader and a very experienced organizational man.

As they say, he was a doctor with his finger on the public pulse. Unlike most other political satraps in India, he had a strong personal following cutting beyond caste, religious, regional or social groups. This was a major reason, why he managed to outwit old rival Naidu as well the new entrant Chiranjivi in the elections.

He was among few such faces in Congress party that could stand on their own and without needing the magic of Sonia or Rahul Gandhi to come to power.

Reddy too had his shares of controversy, some forced upon him by his industrialist son Jagan and others having generated as a result of his dominating of what some will call a feudal attitude. He was also known to dabble in money and muscle power but above all, he was a charmer who managed to weave magic among the masses, a rare quality among the present generation leaders and particularly in Congress. Congress is not going to find it easy to find an equally ‘able’ successor in Andhra Pradesh.

He was also a victim of grave and crass political culture. There was a time when TDP was offering all kinds of freebies. People outside the state may not realise but TDP was giving Rs 2000 per month to every family practically in the state. But Reddy despite being a populist said that he could not give anything. He had said that he had done everything that is possible. He only made some marginal offers like 2 more kg of rice per capita and two more hours of power which was already free in the state. So he had the courage to stand by these things and prove that credibility could win. He did not surrender to the downslide of competitive populism.

Now Andhra and Karnataka are two of the states where everybody knows that electioneering is probably the costliest. And to raise money in these two states one has to do all kinds of things. So let us not fool ourselves by believing that Reddy was not aware of the culture that was prevalent there. He was no saint but he was quite clearly a Robinhood short of being a bandit.

He is one of the tallest leaders of the state, a man who developed a mass base on his own and unite the party at the same time. Secondly, he has taken care of his cadres as opposed to say NTR who was a darling of the masses but not particularly liked by his cadres. And that is why NTR was twice overthrown in his political career. Whereas Reddy would never run that risk, he was deeply loved by his cadres along with being a mass leader. He was the quintessential faction leader and that was his saving grace.

He was one of the most accessible CMs India has ever seen. People were welcome to his house at all sorts of odd hours. Corruption charges are a part of every political life. Until they are proved they should be treated as an occupational hazard.

YSR illustrates the fact that perfect men don't make good politicians. But every politician has to get his hands dirty. Even when he died he was leaving for a place to get his hands dirty and work really. And that is how we should admire him.

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KG Basin gas is neither Ambanis' dad's property nor their mother has any role to play in sorting it out

Its really disgusting to see two brothers fight bitterly not for their property but for national resources. Who the hell are they stake their claim on a national asset worth lakhs of crores of rupees. Thank God that they are fighting else it would have gone to them long ago.

“The two brothers have gone and distributed among themselves in their agreement a property which doesn’t belong to any of them,”

Anil is staking claim to it as per their agreement made during the now famous division of Reliance empire between the two brothers. This division proved that by splitting the empire gets doubled or is it trebled in wealth..a smart move.

Now Mukesh does not want to give concession, but Bombay high court as given such ruling. Mukesh has taken the case to Supreme court.

A new twist has been added by Government of India by claiming that it is a natural resource and Ambanis within themselves can not decide about the national wealth. It is the government which is actually the real owner and Reliance has acted as a contractor to carry out the job of gas extraction and distribution or something on that line.

The ruling on this case is going to have a long term implication on private investment in the areas of OIL and GAS. Carin India another private party will start producing OIL from its Oil field in Rajasthan and similar question will be raised there too.

I get this feeling that the GOI never had the idea that once a hot selling commodity like OIL or GAS if really gets discovered then what could be the real value of that hidden treasure? For the GOI it was easy to displace poor people in the name of progress but here they are up against Industrial giant for eviction....all those high profile corporate lawyers will argue and counter argue.

The Ashes story

The story of the Ashes begins with the famous Test match between Australia and England at The Oval in London during the northern summer of 1882. After a day and a half of tense play the match reached a dramatic conclusion in the final innings. With England needing only 85 runs their win seemed assured, but the Australians were determined to pull off an unlikely victory after an unsporting incident in the previous innings. The famous English champion Dr W G Grace had controversially run out Australian batsman Sam Jones when he was clearly not trying to complete a run.

This run out infuriated the Australian players, especially their bowling spearhead, Fred ‘The Demon’ Spofforth. Before they took the field for the final innings Spofforth assured his teammates that ‘this thing can be done’. An hour into the innings England still seemed certain to win – the total was reduced to 34 with seven wickets still in hand and Grace still at the crease. However, the course of the match changed dramatically when Grace’s wicket fell, triggering one of the most famous collapses in cricketing history. Remarkably the Australian team won by seven runs, registering its first victory over England on English soil.

The defeat shocked English cricket fans. Reports of the match told of tense spectators gnawing through umbrella handles and dropping dead from heart attacks. The result also inspired the satirical side of the British sporting press – in the days after the match two mock obituaries were published lamenting the death of English cricket. The most well known of the two, printed in the London Sporting Times of 2 September 1882, read:

Mock obituary by Reginald Brooks, Sporting times, 2 September 1882

The match at The Oval had created such an interest that the English team organised to tour Australia in the summer of 1882–83 was given the responsibility of ‘regaining those ashes’. The English and Australian players, as well as the local media, continued the ‘ashes’ banter throughout the tour of the colonies. Before the return series Billy Murdoch, the Australian captain, stated, ‘Our boys fairly won the ashes and we confidently rely on them to retain possession’.

Regardless of Murdoch’s boast, the English side won the return series 2–1. It was long thought that the Ashes urn was presented to the English captain, The Hon Ivo Bligh, at the conclusion of the third and deciding Test in Sydney. However, recent research suggests the urn was given to Bligh before the series had even begun. After a social match involving some of the English team during a stay at Sir William Clarke’s Rupertswood estate in Sunbury, Victoria, Lady Clarke – no doubt aware of the banter in the press – presented Bligh with a small vase containing ashes. Despite inconsistent reports about what was burned to create the ashes – a cricket bail, a stump, the cover of a ball, or even a lady’s veil – this modest gift to Bligh has become a cricketing icon.

It is likely that for Bligh the personal significance of the urn extended beyond memories of cricket matches: he fell in love with one of the ladies involved in the presentation – Florence Morphy, the Clarke children’s music teacher. The Englishman visited Rupertswood several times during the 1882–83 tour and despite their differing social status – Bligh was the second son of the sixth Earl of Darnley and Morphy a colonial governess who had grown up in a state of ‘genteel poverty’ – romance blossomed. They married in February 1884 at St Mary’s Church in Sunbury. After the death of his brother in 1900, Bligh became the eighth Earl of Darnley and Florence, the Countess of Darnley. The Ashes urn remained with Bligh until his death in 1927 when Florence, no doubt aware of the increasing significance of the urn, gifted it to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Although initially a joke created by the media and indulged by opposing players, the Ashes legend endured. While the urn itself it has never officially been considered a trophy, in the eyes of cricket fans it became the physical representation of the mythical ‘ashes’. The Ashes urn is now one of sport’s most celebrated artefacts and attracts 50,000 visitors a year to the MCC museum.

Federer the Great eclipses Sampras as the greatest of all time, wins record 15th grand slam title

WIMBLEDON, England — Andy Roddick failed to restore his co-countryman’s record, Federer won by 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-1.

On and on they dueled, Federer trying for a record-breaking 15th major championship, Roddick striving for his second, in a Wimbledon final that required more games than any Grand Slam title match in the considerable annals of a sport dating to the 1800s.

Federer’s 15 major titles eclipses the mark he shared with Pete Sampras, who won his 14th Grand Slam trophy in his last match at the 2002 U.S. Open.

“Ten games all, final set,” intoned the chair umpire. Then, “Twelve games all, final set.” And, still later, “Fourteen games all, final set.”

They were each other’s equal for four full sets and nearly the entire 30-game fifth set. Until Federer, far more experienced in such matters, finally edged ahead, breaking Roddick’s serve for the only time in the 77th and last game to close out a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 victory Sunday.

The epic match — the fifth set alone lasted more than 1½ hours — gave Federer his sixth Wimbledon title. Add that to five from the U.S. Open, three from the Australian Open and one from the French Open, and Federer’s Grand Slam total rises to 15, one more than Pete Sampras, who flew in from California on Sunday morning to be on hand.

“He’s a legend,” Sampras said. “Now he’s an icon.”

Indeed, Sampras already was among those labeling Federer the greatest tennis player ever, and there’s no doubt the 27-year-old from Switzerland keeps bolstering his case.

“It’s not really one of those goals you set as a little boy,” Federer told the Centre Court crowd during the trophy ceremony, “but, man, it’s been quite a career. And quite a month.”

Federer won the French Open four Sundays earlier to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Sampras with 14 major titles (Margaret Smith Court owns the women’s record of 24).

“Sorry, Pete,” Roddick said. “I tried to hold him off.”

He weathered Federer’s career-high 50 aces and his 107 total winners in the longest match and longest fifth set in major final history, topping marks set in 1927.

The tennis gods — as well as Sampras, Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, all in front-row seats — must have enjoyed every moment of the 4-hour, 16-minute tussle. Federer, who can make it all look so easy, was forced to work darned hard to eclipse Sampras’ mark, and Roddick was left heartbreakingly close to finally winning Wimbledon.

Roddick dropped to 0-3 in finals at the All England Club, also beaten by Federer in 2004 and 2005. After the match ended on a shanked forehand by the sixth-seeded American, the two men hugged at the net. A mere handshake wouldn’t do.

The winner donned a specially tailored white jacket with a gold “15″ stitched on the back, while the loser — a word that hardly seems fair in this case — slumped in his chair, head bowed, until rising to acknowledge the spectators’ chorus of “Rodd-ick! Rodd-ick!”

“Sports, or tennis, is cruel sometimes. We know it,” Federer said. “I went through some five-setters in Grand Slam finals, too, and ended up losing. It’s hard.”

A year ago, on the same lawn, Federer’s five-year reign as Wimbledon champion ended in a 9-7 fifth set defeat against his nemesis, Rafael Nadal. Six weeks later, Federer relinquished to Nadal the No. 1 ranking after a record 237 consecutive weeks at the top.

But Nadal did not defend his Wimbledon title, citing sore knees, and Federer not only regained his championship at the All England Club — the Grand Slam he says means the most to him — but returns to No. 1 Monday.

“It’s staggering that I’ve been able to play so well for so many years now and stay injury-free,” Federer said. “I knew what it took to win the big ones. … It’s crazy that I’ve been able to win so many in such a short period of time.”

Sampras — whose 14th major title came in his last match, at age 31, at the 2002 U.S. Open — and his wife appeared in the Royal Box during the changeover after Sunday’s third game. Walking to the baseline directly below, Federer acknowledged Sampras with a nod of the head and a little wave.

“I thought, ‘I don’t want to be rude,’ you know?” Federer said.

He wept with joy after his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. And he bawled in the locker room after his 40-match winning streak here ended against Nadal in 2008. This time, Federer kept it together, perhaps because he was too exhausted after a match chock-full of contradictions:

— Federer’s ace count was one shy of the Wimbledon record and, most remarkably, 23 more than Roddick, who is better-known for his knee-buckling serves.

— Roddick broke serve twice in the first four sets; Federer, considered a superior returner, couldn’t come through until the match’s concluding game.

— Federer won both tiebreakers; Roddick is the one who began the day 26-4 in those set-capping races to seven points.

Then there was the most counterintuitive piece of all: that Roddick would even stay close, much less be on the verge of victory, given that he came in 2-18 against Federer, including 0-7 at major tournaments.

Roddick made quite clear, quite quickly, that he is a new-and-improved version, delivering four passing winners by the time the match was 13 minutes old — three with his backhand, long his weaker side.

And he broke Federer to close the first set. It happened suddenly: Federer won 21 of the first 24 points on his serve, but Roddick took three out of four in a blink, earning the last point of that set with a backhand down the line that drew a wide forehand from Federer.

The crowd roared, sensing an upset. There were more rumblings when Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, went up 6-2 in the second-set tiebreaker. Here, then, were four chances to take a 2-0 lead in sets.

Roddick might have been forgiven for thinking, “Wow, I’m one point away from leading Roger Federer two sets to none in the Wimbledon final.” He certainly played as though burdened by looking ahead, letting all four set points slip from his grasp. Most discouraging was the last, when he wildly misplayed a backhand volley. It was part of a six-point, set-ending run for Federer.

How does someone recover from that? Somehow, Roddick did.

“At that point, like everything else, there’s two options: You lay down or you keep going,” he said. “The second option sounded better to me.”

Roddick lost the third set, too, but rallied to take the fourth, and then came the fifth. Wimbledon doesn’t use tiebreakers in fifth sets, and there were times it seemed Federer and Roddick would play into the night.

Federer faced a serious test at 8-8, though, when Roddick earned two break points with a backhand winner down the line. Federer saved the first with a 118 mph service winner, and the second with a volley winner. There was not another break point for either man until Roddick served while trailing 15-14.

At deuce, Roddick sailed a forehand long, giving Federer his seventh break point of the match. Until then, he was 0 for 6. But this was also a championship point, and Federer converted.

“Frustrating, at times, because I couldn’t break Andy ’til the very, very end,” Federer said. “So satisfaction is maybe bigger this time around to come through, because I couldn’t control the match at all.”

As he enjoyed the first post-victory moments in the locker room — a more muted celebration than usual, owing to Roddick’s presence — members of the grounds crew entered and presented him with the Centre Court net. Another keepsake for Federer’s ever-more-crowded trophy room.

This was the first Wimbledon with a retractable roof on Centre Court, a modern touch for a stadium that opened in 1922.

But this edition of the tournament wound up being almost entirely dry, with only two matches contested with the roof shut. This final was played with the blue sky above. The tennis gods must have wanted a good view.

Feelings for Micheal Jackson

Michael Jackson died last week and he was only 50 years old. It really took me by surprise, but it wasn't as if I didn't expect it sometime fairly soon. There have been rumors flying around for some time now about his health problems. As a matter of fact, when Michael was on trial, one day he was late because of health problems. Obviously, the judge didn't feel that Michael's health was all that important because he threatened to have Michael Jackson jailed unless he made an appearance in the courtroom. Michael showed up in his pajamas. Does anyone else remember that?

People made it out to seem as if he was faking. Some people even made it seem like he was crazy and would do ANYTHING as he was suddenly "extremely unpredictable" and all. I guess he wasn't kidding or faking about having health problems, huh?

I'm going to miss Michael Jackson. He was a man who set out to hurt no one, but the world seemed hell-bent upon hurting him. Michael Jackson was seriously the King of Pop in so many ways. Maybe he's better off wherever he is since we trashed his good name without even giving him a chance to speak. I choose to believe that he is now seated up in Heaven, seeing God for the first time.

It took 2 days for me to really absorb that MJ has become history. MJ also can die like us, human beings?!!!!! But his death is in the process of making him more popular, more talked about and the most cherished and honoured entertainer the world has ever witnessed. yesterday, i walked to the nearest music store and got a pack of his DVDs. While watching i smiled to myself and thought "Who said that there is a death for THIS entertainer as long as the earth is alive and kicking?"

Does anyone feel like me about Michael Jackson or am I alone in this? When I was growing up Michael Jackson was such a big role model. Sure, he was a little weird but he seemed to care and love. I'm really hurt that Michael Jackson is dead.