When does one retire?

Getting the timing of retirement for any sports personality is critical- it inks the legend forever! In Cricket, timing has mattered a lot to legacy. Don retiring with the infamous duck to leave his test average tantalizingly short of a 100, Gavaskar retiring with one of his finest innings of 96 in a lost effort against Pakistan, Steve Waugh retiring against India- those have all been momentous occasions.
Sachin, on the other hand, seems to be struggling with this.
There are several reasons.
One- he has played for India for well over 23 years, thats almost two thirds of his life. He doesnt know anything else.
Two- the uniqueness of the records- be it a 100 hundreds or 200 tests might be an incentive.
Three- there was still unfinished business after the World Cup, like beating Australia and SA on a more consistent basis.
But the moment is gone.
His retirement from one day cricket was done over Christmas, no real splashes there.
There is the new generation that is ready to take over- Kohli, Pujara, possibly Dhawan, Jadeja- move over Little Master. The old order changeth yielding place to new!

The official changing of the guard in Tennis

For the past few years, both men's and women's tennis have been fascinating to watch and this year's Finals indicate a real shift that happened. In the women's draw, no Serena or Maria and in the Men's Draw, no Federer or Nadal, two names that dominated Men's tennis in the last decade.
Andy Murray, with his Olympic gold and US Open title, is playing better than ever, and Novak is always an incredible contender and to think, he was almost knocked out by Wawrinka just goes to show how close the Men's tennis has become.
I am looking forward to the Final tomorrow.
As I write this, Azarenka is fighting from one set behind against Li Na. Both have been top players but neither has been consistent and to watch a really hard fought women's finals in the warm Australian summer is always a good sporting start to the year. It is indeed the official changing of the guard- in the Finals, no Nadal, no Federer, no Serena, no Maria- no problem- there is a lot of depth and that can only be good for the sport!

This is it!

For any fan of music and performance, This is it is a must watch.
You dont have to be a Michael Jackson fan.
You just have to love music and you have the love the art of performing!
The movie is very well made- it is a compilation of a bunch of rehearsals for the This is it concert in London that Michael was supposed to perform before he died under mysterious circumstances.
The movie is great for three reasons-
First- It shows Michael's insights into what makes a great performance. He coaches his vocalists, he coaches the drummer, he coaches the guitarist- and all of those coaching moments, he is authentic, he is in the moment and he is looking for what would make the most impact- both for the performer as well as the audience watching it.
Second- It captures the adulation of his fans in a very real manner, it is not made up, it is just what they feel- it is raw, emotional and very impactful.
Third- the movie shows the human side of Michael as well as the musical genius he truly was. His personal life may be what it may, his idiosyncracies may be what they may, the fact remains when you write songs like Heal the world and Black or White, and perform the way he did, you are a true genius!
Hail the King of Pop!

Feinberg on "what is life worth"

Ken Feinberg is in the public eye right now as he is the pay czar governing the compensation policies of bailed out companies from the crisis of last year. I had little knowledge about who he was till he was appointed for this post.
Then, I started doing some research. Found out that he had a role much more significant and impactful than what he has now- he was the person responsible for determining compensation for victims of the 9/11 attack. he had sweeping powers. On Sept 22, 11 days after the brutal attack, Congress passed a hastily created bill that sought to compensate the families of victims of the 9/11 attack. How much compensation, to who, the criterion to be used- all of this was left deliberately vague and the sole person responsible to execute on this- from design, to implementation was Ken Feinberg.
He has written a fascinating account of that journey in a book appropriately titled "What is life worth" as essentially, that is what he had to determine when he was decided how the families needed to be compensated. The book describes how it changed Feinberg as a person as he saw not just how people dealt with sorrow and loss, it also opened his eyes to vastly different perspectives on what was considered "enough" to live well.
It is a book that is well written, thought provoking and something that clearly changed the author's perspective on life in general.
A great read and well worth a skim at the very least. Given that experience if not anything else, I think he is uniquely qualified to be the Pay Czar for the bailed out companies. If he could assess what lives were worth, surely the worth of jobs is a walk in the park!

Back after a long layoff

I have not written for some time. I have been off blogging for a while for a bunch of different reasons. One- too much going on at work. Two- two little kids that I'm happy to spend all my free time with. Three- traveling back to India and the just the preparation to go there and be back at work. Its been hectic, but extremely rewarding.
First of all, the economy in general and financial services industry in particular, seems to be seeing some stability. While the credit charge-offs remain high, they are trending downward and thats a good sign. Unemployment still remains worrisome, and until that shows signs of coming down, there will be always be the over-hang of the recession. Dick Bove, the banking analyst I respect a lot, today went on record to say that housing has bottomed out- that is a strong statement to make and even if there is a modicum of truth in that, there is hope.
Secondly- it seems the general American consumer is saving more and while that is not good for the retail industry, I think it is a good healthy turn of behavior. Americans have been living way beyond their means for too long and if this crisis leads to a higher personal savings rate, I would consider that a happy outcome.
Lastly- the long hiatus I was on saw us lose the king of pop in the most bizarre circumstances. Whatever the nature of his personal life and the manner of his death, he will remain, for me, one of the greatest writers and musicians of all time. Some of the lyrics- Black or White and Heal the World being two of my favorites, are a great commentary on the world we live in and what it needs.
I am hoping to write a little more regularly for the rest of the year and keep the thoughts going- from politics, to sports to entertainment.
Till then...

Why the Indian Premier League is such a success?

The finals of IPL 2009 just got over in South Africa. Deccan beat Bangalore in a match that ebbed and flowed right till the last over. It was fun watching the match with friends in the US. I think the IPL will go a long way in making cricket more internationally well known for a variety of reasons.
First- it all gets over in under four hours. One of the biggest complaints of a lot of my friends abroad about learning cricket has been that it takes too long. This version is like a baseball game and you ALWAYS get a result!
Second- the combination of cricket with bollywood is a superlative idea. The glitz and glamor add to the excitement.
Third- the possibility of watching the finest players in the world on one stage.
The IPL revolution is reminiscent of the Packer revolution in the late seventies. The way Packer changed the way one day cricket was played is how IPL will change the way the shorter of the form of the game will internationalize cricket going forward.
As a purist, I still like 5 day cricket but I have been glued to the IPL over the last four weeks and I cant think of too many test series that can have me riveted for that long!

Banking, TARP and the economy

We are living in the strangest times. America's savings rates are showing record improvements, the unemployment is rising close to double digits, the government is having a large share of the Banks and the financial future is anything but certain. In the past two weeks, there have some positive signs-
a) The credit/ financial crisis seems to be a hitting a bottom- banks are lending again, the toxic assets are showing signs of getting cleared out and the refinancing boom is bringing the mortgage industry back on its tracks.
b) The low end retailers are showing continued sings of resilience, which essentially means consumers are spending, but not for luxury items.
What are the headwinds?
Unemployment and softer retail sales overall.
Obama has been widely criticized but here are three things he has done which are remarkable as a leader-
a) He has acted with speed in building his administration out and the team has hit the ground running
b) He has articulated a clear vision of where he needs to take the country- you may disagree with the vision but he has set a clear vision.
c) He has shown sings of being very collaborative in the global arena.
His performance in G20 was stellar.
On a side-note, the TARP issue is an interesting one. Jamie Dimon on the earnings call said he would like to return the money tomorrow. The government doesn't want to take it back- it seems to be liking the control it has over the banks! Clearly, the banks are not liking the demonization of the industry and the very heavy oversight that is coming with the money. THis will be an interesting tug of war to watch.
I am beginning to see the glass half full and I think are on track for recovery by early 2010.