Any Martina McBride fans out there? Her song “Anyway” came up on the mp3 player when I was about 20 miles or so (nearly there) from the basin on Thanksgiving Day, and it got me thinking. Despite the supreme frustrations we wild horse lovers endure in the battle to keep our mustangs wild and free, and despite the heartaches and breaks they inevitably bring us along the way – from the magical way they melt into our hearts from first sighting – we must love them anyway. I don’t know about you all, but I’m helpless to do it any other way.

This visit wasn’t without some personal heartbreak – Molly. But it was with so much more: the horses and me and the deer and the wind and the light and the hills and song dogs howling and hope for the future in the shape of little faces and fuzzy coats, winter-ready.

Hunters gone, I had a long-awaited visit with the pinto ponies. Stout Milagro is so fuzzy, he looked like a pony next to daddy Copper.

Oddly, he and Liberty are the same dark muley bay. Maybe a genetic connection on their respective trees.

Here we have Shadow as bonnie mountain goat and David playing it a wee bit safer. I spotted them from the county road, but the pintos were hiding a bit.

The horses – including matriarch Kiowa – were relaxed and grazing, and they paid hardly as much attention to me as to the visitor walking the trail below them …

I’m happy to report that although the vast contingent of hunters finally left the valley, the deer did not. In fact, they are much more visible now, including at least two magnificent ”granddaddies” to this young buck.

Mama Kiowa and baby Milagro; Corazon at left and Spook at right.

Mesa is still the outside man, but Ty and Corazon are right in the thick of things, to no great concern of Copper’s.

Corazon; Kiowa in the background.

Reya is the same age as Shadow; they’ll be 3 next spring.

Sisters Reya and Spook (May 1, 2008).

And baby brother Milagro (July 1, 2009). Can you see how fuzzy he is?

In the “front country” of the basin, Steeldust’s band was enjoying the last light of day … and I enjoyed the light creating halos around them …

He does seem to be sticking close to Lady Alpha these days.

Luna and Hannah

Mahogany grazing; Sable seeking attention from almost-3-year-old Kestrel (yearmate of Shadow and Reya).

A little past, a little different angle o’ light. Comanche in the background. (Aspen and Hook are still with the band.)

I took some pictures in passing, but my attention was really farther ahead: Chrome, Jif and little-man Hayden.

This image may be actual size? That’s Hayden’s teeny hoofprint in the soil of his home … Can’t express, really, what this image means to me.

It seems to me (stand by for anthropomorphization) that now-family-man Chrome is a little befuddled by the recent attention showered upon him – former bachelor that he is – well, in his vicinity. I am thankful for his care of his little shadow …

This one just makes me smile.

Little is fuzzed-up and bearded for winter … so soon … He seems to show the faintest hint of grey high on his cheeks, but right around his eyes is red. What color will the mister be? He’s so much like his daddy, Grey/Traveler.

Now the secret is out: BLM’s next “issue” is the incredible proliferation of over-populating wild ants! No end in sight! How WILL they manage this new “problem”??

Evening with a view …

So thankful …

I took this photo of the moon during my visit with Hayden and Co., song dogs setting up a chorus in the background. Not sure it could have been more perfect.

At that point, I didn’t yet know about Molly.

In the morning, before sunrise, it was 15 degrees in the basin. The morning star was glittering like a droplet of  ice on the eastern horizon while the sky grew steadily lighter. In the dim light, I had a sighting that made my heart leap: Duke. It was hard to see him because it was not yet exactly light and because of the distance, but he looked a little off – still. More on him to come.

Mornings in the basin will make you believe in something other than yourself … and if you already believe … it will reaffirm your faith in something humans will never take away. It is still. It is clear. It is hopeful. It is magic. You can almost hear the collective breath holding, waiting for that first light on the far ridges across Disappointment Valley, waiting for a long column of light to illuminate, first, Filly Peak, then widen and lay down its path across Round Top and Flat Top.

Steeldust and his hangers-on were single-file from the pond to the base of the hill. Far away.

I was looking for horses to put between me and the camera and the hills, surrounded by that sublime light. Did I mention how cold it was?

Hollywood and his girls and his youngster found me, grazing quietly in the pre-dawn light down a line of hills below the road. I hadn’t spent much time with them lately, so I put my down coat on top of my jacket and 14 other layers, wrapped my ear-band around my head, readied my gloves, put extra batteries close to my heart … and waited and watched the creep of light.

Have you ever watched – really watched – sunrise? It can’t be described. Especially, maybe, in the great – intimate – expanse of the basin; there are just too many places to watch the rising sun touch hills and ridges and swells with that sweet golden light. And before I knew it, sunlight had replaced shadow surrounding Holls and the girls and Sage. I zipped up and started walking. Baylee, watching me waddle toward them, thought – apparently – I was the abominable snowwoman – or Michelin Woman? – come to life.

The “Bundle Woman” cometh.

Piedra apparently eventually recognized me, but Baylee’s expression didn’t change much in the other photos I took. Steeldust’s band didn’t know what to think last fall, either, the first time I wore my down coat, until I started singing to them … the only audience that can withstand my “singing.”

Sage still treats auntie Baylee like a playmate … and he still seeks reassurance from mama.

Hollywood

Sage’s winter coat is brown again. He looks like a little Mouse.

Relaxed

I hadn’t seen Grey/Traveler’s band the day before – and I hadn’t seen Bounce’s since the weekend before last - so I decided to head on to look for them and see if the golden light would hold.

Saw the silver boy and his band … and as I approached the Round Top intersection, I saw horses nearly straight ahead. It took a second to identify them against the light … and it took a second after that to pick out Liberty, grazing close to Gaia. I didn’t have to look for Molly; I knew she wouldn’t be there. Even expecting to see what I saw, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. There’d be no heartbreak if there wasn’t first love.

Gaia and Liberty

Bounce

Whisper and Alegre

Maybe a little surrogate-mothering going on …

Liberty is our third orphan since I started the documentation of the Spring Creek Basin herd. My introduction to Twister was when he was already orphaned, possibly during the roundup. Shadow’s dam, Ceal, died sometime over the winter of 2007-08. Liberty is 6 months old, and she’s a tough little thing. I think she’ll be OK.

I walked from them back over to Grey/Traveler’s band.

He is my healing magic.

Cuatro was hanging out, napping on his feet, a short distance from the band. Then he decided to put on a show:

Such a big trot for a little boy!

Flying!

He must have learned this move from his muley pals.

He hit the brakes, and Terra came up out of the arroyo. Two Boots never looked up from her grazing. She’s a veteran mama at the ripe young age of 2. Watching Cuatro, it suddenly became apparent to me that his sire has to be Twister; he looks just like him.

Grey and Houdini

Terra and Cuatro

Iya (April 27, 2008) and Terra (May 1, 2009); La Sal Mountains in the background. They were born the same color; look how dark Iya is now!

Fuzzy, furry silver boy!

Thus emotionally armed, I went back to find Duke.

He looks all right … but he is thinner than when he had Raven and Corona – and, briefly, Kootenai.

He’s still limping, but he’s completely mobile, and he’s putting weight on his injured leg (right hind). See all that sky behind him? This is Spring Creek Basin’s version of “top of the world.” The difference between here and the Pryors is that here, if you step off that edge … well, let’s just say it really is an edge, and I really would recommend NOT stepping off!

Love his handsome face.

He’s a crazy horse to be walking up and down mountains (to and from water) on his healing leg, but he’s a tough boy!

Love, always.

Thankful days don’t wait for calendar dates. No matter what’s going on, I – and you, I bet – have things in your life for which to be thankful anyway. I think the ponies don’t know how much they give of themselves to all of us who admire them so; it’s the least we can do to ensure their continued protection – any way we can.

Daniel Pedrosa – Implacabile. Se parte primo e ha qualche giro di tempo per prendere il ritmo diventa irraggiungibile. E’ un’equazione matematica. Peccato che poi nel corpo a corpo lasci a desiderare. Comunque sia approfitta dell’assenza di Stoner e fa tutto alla perfezione.

Valentino Rossi – Tonico. Risolve i problemi delle prove e fa una gara quasi perfetta. Batte ancora Lorenzo ma non riesce a raggiungere Pedrosa. Valencia non è la sua pista ma senza la pressione per il mondiale da conquistare può correre in scioltezza e andar forte anche dove magari non si esprime al meglio.

Jorge Lorenzo – “Pallonata”. Quando era davanti a Valentino prende un’imbarcata, salta sulla moto e nell’atterrare sul serbatoio sbatte violentemente le parti intime. Perde qualche giro per riprendersi dal male e poi comincia con un forcing che lo riporta sotto a Rossi, ma troppo tardi.
Manca poco per essere perfetto, vedremo se quel poco lo metterà a posto per la prossima stagione.

Colin Edwards – Inossidabile. Passano i GP ma il vecchio Colin è sempre li. Ammette candidamente che battere i fantastici quattro per lui è impossibile e quindi si limita a fare il meglio che può, cioè il migliore degli umani.
Conclude quinto nel mondiale scavalcando Dovizioso, mentre in gara tiene e cuccia il connazionale Hayden con un ritmo costante rispondendo all’occorrenza. Nel 2010 farà da chioccia a Spies, anche se probabilmente dopo un paio di GP lo vedrà costantemente da dietro.

Nicky Hayden – Conferma. Non ha il ritmo di Stoner, non lo ha mai avuto. Non potrà mai fare lo Stoner e un altro mondiale non lo rivincerà mai. Però può ottenere buoni risultati e fa di tutto per riuscirci. Conclude la stagione in crescendo, dimostrando di poter controllare la belva di Borgo Panigale.
Sicuramente da lui in Ducati non si aspettano di più; per vincere ci vuole un’altra pasta.

Ben Spies – Bel biglietto da visita. Venerdi prende due secondi, sabato meno di uno e mezzo, nel warm up è nei primi sei, poi in gara lotta con gente ben più esperta i queste moto e alla fine giunge settimo.
Sempre in crescendo, sempre con più padronanza del mezzo e delle gomme.
Non vuole fare stupidaggini e non le fa, anzi, fa paura un pò a tutti.
Rossi alla fine dice che è stato bravo ma che Pedrosa e Stoner nel 2006 gli facevano più paura; può essere, ma se continua cosi Ben può inserirsi nella lotta per il podio.

Andrea Dovizioso – Involuto. Nella seconda parte della stagione, cioè dopo la vittoria di Donington sul bagnato, Andrea non ha raccolto i risultati sperati e anche in questa gara conferma la tendenza.
Prende più di 30 secondi dal compagno di squadra, troppi per uno che vuole puntare al mondiale; poi come beffa finale subisce pure il sorpasso dal rookie Ben Spies. Meglio pensare al futuro.

Casey Stoner – Scollegato. Durante il giro di ricognizione a gomme fredde esagera col gas e vola per terra; poi rimane a bordo pista invece di salire su uno scooter e imboccare la via dei box per salire sulla seconda moto. Poteva riprendere la corsa aspirando a vincere e invece sbaglia tutto.
Interrompe la striscia di vittorie consecutive e dopo il ritmo fatto vedere in qualifica poteva tranquillamente vincere nonostante Pedrosa; pazienza, l’importante è che il vero stoner sia tornato.

Congressional Longevity Record Falls

Thursday, November 26, 2009. The white noise coming from Capitol Hill lately is so red hot that it was easy to miss a significant milestone last week.  Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia became the longest-serving member of Congress in history, passing the previous record of former Sen. Carl Hayden of Arizona.

Fifty-six years, 326 days and counting for those of you keeping score at home. That’s more than a half century, sneaking up on six decades. One more election and the good senator’s term of service could qualify for Social Security. Byrd has been roaming the halls of Congress longer than ten of his current colleagues and President Barack Obama have been walking this earth.

An amazing set of circumstances must come together to allow this kind of achievement. Personal health, energy and desire to keep serving play into it. Hayden actually retired four years prior to his death in 1972 or he might still hold the record.

The ability to keep winning elections is certainly a large factor. Former Senator Frank Church of Idaho was fond of saying “Your friends come and go, but your enemies accumulate.” Church served four terms in the Senate before the accumulated enemies resulted in his defeat. His 24 years of service fall substantially less than half of Byrd’s, Hayden’s and quite a few others’.

A member has to be very right for his state or district to start with, and then be able to change and adapt with a changing society.

Byrd’s adaptation is perhaps his most interesting characteristic. He was, after all, boys and girls, a young man and former redundant member of the Ku Klux Klan as a young man. His record is strewn with apologies, but it also contains a filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a vote against the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He did vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and has called his earlier segregationist actions — based on a commitment to states’ rights, or not — among his biggest regrets. Ok. I’ll take him at his word.

For my purposes today, the more salient point is that he was present for these votes. In 2005, Roll Call newspaper brought together a panel of liberal and conservative congressional scholars to determine the most important legislation of the previous 50 years. Beginning with the National Defense Education Act of 1958 at number six, and reaching to the Patriot Act of 2001 with an honorable mention, only Byrd and Representative John Dingle of Michigan were members of Congress for all the votes on the list.

Number three, according to the Roll Call panel, are the Medicare and Medicaid Acts of 1965. Compared with Social Security in their impact on American life, these programs have enjoyed broad bi-partisan support from their inception, as did all of the top bills on Roll Call’s list.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently compared the House’s passage of health care reform legislation with passage of the Medicare and Medicaid Acts. I love her passion and understand her excitement, but this assessment is, at best, premature. Medicare and Medicaid passed both bodies and were signed into law. Health care reform has not.

Then there’s that pesky bi-partisan thing, which will continue to elude  health care reform if Republicans stick to their current strategy. Medicare passed with a majority of both parties in the house and 40 percent of Republicans in the senate. The history of significant legislation suggests such bi-partisan support may be needed to produce a law that the nation will embrace.

This country is a different place than it was in the mid-sixties. So is Congress. The entire political system is so much more polarized that achieving bi-partisan support for significant change may not be possible. If this is so, and if the Democrats succeed in passing health care reform over the dug-in heels of the Republicans, we’ll get a chance to see if a one-party bill can be the kind of game changer that Medicare and Medicaid have been.

One thing is for sure — it is risky money to bet against Robert Byrd being around for whatever happens next.

Congratulations, Senator, and thank you for your service.

Seconda vittoria stagionale per lui e 2009 che va in cantiere non senza colpi di scena. Daniel Pedrosa vince il GP della Comunità Valenciana davanti a Valentino Rossi e a Jorge Lorenzo.
E’ la seconda vittoria stagionale per lui sopo il successo di Laguna Seca; vittoria sicuramente resa più semplice dal grossolano errore di Casey Stoner nel giro di allineamento, nel quale ha esagerato con il gas a gomme fredde, cadendo e dicendo addio ai sogni di (probabilissima) vittoria.

Durante le qualifiche Stoner aveva messo in riga tutti e tutti si aspettavano che anche in gara Casey potesse fare un altro sport; dopo la caduta nel warm up lap però la vittoria è tornata in gioco e Pedrosa è stato il più lesto di tutti nell’approfittare di ciò.
In partenza Dani non si fa pregare e parte a fionda mentre Rossi e Lorenzo vengono sopravanzati da Elias; i due yamahisti impiegano un paio di giri nel risorpassarlo ma intanto Pedrosa è già scappato.
Il suo ritmo è insostenibile sia per Rossi che per Lorenzo il quale, dopo un rischio in uscita di curva, salta sulla moto e sbatte violentemente sul serbatoio andando per un attimo in confusione.
Una volta passato il male Jorge riprende il ritmo e si riavvicina a Rossi ma Valentino riesce a rispondere e a garantirsi cosi la seconda posizione.

Dietro a Pedrosa Rossi e Lorenzo la gara ha visto un paio di lotte interessanti; la prima quella tra Edwards e Hayden per la quarta posizione e la seconda la risalita nel gruppo di Ben Spies, Campione del Mondo Superbike qui a bordo della Yamaha M1.
Edwards per concludere in campionato davanti a Dovizioso doveva assolutamente raccogliere un risultato di rilievo e proprio come ha detto lui “arrivare primo degli umani”; Hayden nonostante ami Valencia non è riuscito a tenere il passo di Colin ma ha comunque corso una buona gara giungendo quinto precedendo Toni Elias, disoccupato di lusso per il 2010.
Spies invece, dopo il nono posto in griglia, è partito cauto, prendendo il ritmo a mano a mano che i giri passavano e le lotte con i colleghi si facevano sempre più intense.
E’ riuscito a sopravanzare piloti vecchi e nuovi, fino a riprendere e a fulminare con una bellissima staccata Dovizioso, conquistando cosi la settima piazza finale.
La sensazione è che ci troviamo di fronte ad un grande pilota, uno di quelli che nel 2010 dirà la sua nella lotta per il podio in svariate occasioni, anche se per pensare di infilarsi fra i fantastici quattro forse è ancora un pò presto.

Really Hayden Panettiere?

Well there is more eroticizing violence today.

But really what do you expect from a person who creates such profound pieces as this work of art.

And if that doesn’t get you going, you can watch Hayden have a good ol’ time with some flowing champagne.

In all fairness, Shields made a very similar video with Zachery Quinto earlier this year.

I really would have enjoyed hearing Shields’s pitch this concept to Quinto. Mostly because  I would love to find out how you make getting squirted on by a white liquid sound meaningful?

¡Que bonita… sonrisa!

Para no quitar la sana costumbre de disfrutar de los candentes descuidos de las famosas y no tan famosas, aqui les dejamo una fotografia de la bellisima Hayden Panettiere, que muy inocentemente poso para la camara, sin saber que nos mostraba algo mas que su perfecta dentadura. ¡Disfrutenla, amigos y felices pajas!

Hayden is on his way to Huntsville, Alabama for three fun filled days at Space Camp. I am so excited for him and I know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. He was so nervous last night and this morning. He is worried about where he is going to change because he will be rooming with 6 other boys. He is very modest so this is going to be a challenge for him. He had a number of worries and kept telling me that he had butterflies in this stomach this morning. I am hoping that once he gets there he won’t worry so much.

He will be participating in the Astrotek program. If you click on that link and scroll down towards the middle of the page you can see all of the activities he will be involved in over the next few days. He is most excited about going to an IMAX show as he has wanted to do that for years.

I really wish I could have went as a chaperone but it wouldn’t be easy with a baby.

Fellow sports blogger Josh Pettitt this week posed a debate for the greatest sporting icon of the noughties.
In cricket, we have been lucky enough to witness the greatest of cricket teams in action over the last decade and, for all the brilliance of Brian Lara, the outstanding cricketer of the era must be an Australian.
Of the Australians who spearheaded this great side, many have brushed greatness on more than one occasion.

Adam Gilchrist redefined the role of the wicketkeeper-batsman, Matthew Hayden has tormented bowling attacks the world over, Ricky Ponting has ruthlessly racked up the runs and Glenn MacGrath’s meticulous accuracy was too good for most.
But it is Shane Warne who stands shoulders above his peers as a man who rarely slipped below the tag of greatness. Warne would be the first pick in anyone’s all-time XI and single-handedly made spin bowling sexy again.

From the turn of the century to his retirement at the end of the 2006/07 Ashes, Warne took an unprecedented 357 wickets at an average a little above 25.

And all this after being named as one of Wisden’s cricketers of the twentieth century. To achieve true greatness across in two centuries is a truly remarkable feat.

When Warne bowled that magical ball to Mike Gatting on his Ashes debut in 1992, the cricketing world knew they had a special talent on their hands.

People feared he would struggle to generate such devastating spin after shoulder surgery in 2000 and 2002 and some even feared his career may be over. But Warne came back stronger, adding excruciating accuracy to his devastating spin.

And he finished his career in the greatest possible way – as the star of the Australia side who whitewashed England in the 2006-07 Ashes.

The sheer consistency with which Warne not just brushed greatness, but maintained it over seven years of the past decade – and fifteen in all - make him the greatest sporting icon of the noughties.

Check out the other contenders here;

Josh Pettitt on Roger Federer

Will Gilgrass on David Beckham

Rob Goodman on Zinedene Zidane

Alex Smith on Lance Armstrong

Alain Tolhurst on Ryan Giggs

Hugh Morris on Steven Gerrard

Mike Brown on Usain Bolt

Tom Victor on Michael Schumacher

Had Rahul Dravid abused the cricket administration it still would have been an understatement at the angst he must have felt for having been dropped from the ODI side after having been given just five innings after a gap of two years. In those five innings Dravid was the highest scorer with the highest strike rate (47 in 56 balls) in a match that India badly lost against Sri Lanka in Colombo. In the final that India won in Colombo he made only 39 runs, but more importantly, he had a 95-run first wicket partnership with Tendulkar who made 138. He got two more innings in the Champions Trophy; where in the match against Pakistan he was the lone man standing amidst the collapse that started after Virat Kohli’s attempt to go for a lofted shot.

India could not clear the first hurdle at the Champions Trophy and Dravid who made 70 plus paid the price. Had he been in the Indian side that lost to the Aussies recently—not because they were outplayed but because they had fewer players who knew how to read the game and have the character to fight it out till the end—the result may have been different? What has the man not done for the team since his debut in England? What Ravi Shastri said after the 2002-03 Adelaide Test still holds true; he said that he considered only three people as India’s batting greats Gavaskar, Vishwanath, and Tendulkar and after the Adelaide Test he was ready to add the name of Rahul Dravid to the list.

One of the reasons for India’s failure to be a major cricketing force and not just a financial behemoth has been the commercial greed that is taking priority at the expense of the game of cricket and the cricketers. As long as cricket players and the game of cricket is primary there is no reason to worry about the big money coming into the game; this money will only benefit everyone associated with the game in one way or the other. If the oldest and the truest form of the game—which goes on for 5 days without the guarantee of a result—remains robust and healthy like a loving, strong and committed marriage then there is no reason to worry about the slam bam affair of Twenty20. The worry for cricket, just like life, is that devoting too much time to the side dish could end up leaving no appetite for the main course.

The first official Test was played between Australia and England in Melbourne starting March 15, 1877. Australia won the timeless match by 45 runs and England squared the series by winning the next Test starting March 31, 1877, also at the MCG.

“One newspaper summed up the mood in an editorial on the day Lillywhite’s side set sail for home. ‘It shows that in bone as muscle, activity, athletic vigour, and success in field sports, the Englishmen born in Australia do not fall short of the Englishmen born in Surrey or Yorkshire.’
‘For the time being, wrote the Argus, we must forget we are Victorians and New South Wales and our geographical distinctions, and only remember that we are of one nation—Australia.’”

A history of over 132 years of Test cricket and India’s own history of over 77 years of Test cricket is a rich minefield where heroes can be found and their success and their follies relished. The moments that make history and the moments they defy history are the milestones that each cricketing nation cherishes in its own way. One good Test match gives a writer enough material for a book and it would be tough to write one on five years of Twenty20. All this cannot be compared to the 50-over cricket of just over 38 years and that of Twenty20 which is around 5 years; I would be happy to debate if someone suggests that this is natural progression and that the game has evolved.

It was 32 for four today before the eighth over of the day was finished and India ended the day at 385 for 6 with Dravid unbeaten on 177 with 26 fours and a six at a strike rate of 70.51. The knock Dravid played today oozed class and he went past 11000 Test runs to become the fifth-highest run-scorer in the 132-year-old history of the game.

India may have got a rough deal when it was for years struggling to either get good teams to play in the country or to get to tour more frequently to major Test playing nations. With the balance tipping in its favour, India has the responsibility to ensure that Test cricket remains healthy and the side dish should not take precedence. The greatest player this nation has produced said this week when he completed 20 years of international cricket that 5 Test matches in a season is too few. And just one columnist wrote about preserving Test cricket as the best tribute to Sachin Tendulkar.

A bit of Twenty20 and a few ODIs with Test tours as the primary focus should be the natural priority. The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race that approximately covers 3500 kilometres and it cannot be reduced to or compared to a 10 kilometre race. Test cricket has its audience and with good result-oriented wickets it can compete and also beat the other two formats hands down as not everything in life that is short is necessarily sweet as well. Quantity is one thing and quality quite another and a genuine cricket fan just like a genuine cricket player knows what is what. There is no reason why the genuine cricketer and the genuine fan should suffer because the shorter form can be marketed better by those who give a damn about the game and the players.

Something great and something bizarre as well as poor and inexplicable has happened in this One Day series. The great has gone to Australia along with the series and India can sit and debate about the rest. You go and beat a full-strength Australian team in their backyard in the first two finals of the best-of-three finals in the last edition of the tri-nation Commonwealth Bank Series in 2008. Then you maintain a high percentage of victory in most of the bilateral series that follow but fall at the first hurdle of both the 2009 World tournaments—the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. The two world tournaments had enough twists to ensure that the journalists had a good time, especially the brilliant victory of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. The Australians lifted the Champions Trophy beating New Zealand in the finals.

Hang on! The Australians are coming to India for a 7-match ODI series that they think is too hectic; and Ponting goes public with his concern for the crammed schedule. Ian Chappell writes for some media company that it is a useless series in an already hectic season. Someone from the BCCI is quoted in another story that asks Chappell to shut up and mind his own business; meaning to stop messing with our business.

In the Champions Trophy, India had one bad day and their campaign ended; so you could say that they were kind of unlucky. But a home series of seven matches could change all that; hammer the depleted Aussie side, grab the number 1 position and send the visitors packing as this was a much-weakened team compared to the one that Dhoni’s boys had beaten in 2008 in the Australian backyard.

The end result of 4-2 in Australia’s favour is the worst fall that Dhoni has seen in his still-short captaincy career. With the number of injuries rising with each game, Ponting has rightly hailed this win close to winning a World Cup and as satisfying as any in his career. Australian media has cheered the victory as the dismantling of ‘upstart rivals’ India.

Where did things go wrong for India can be seen better from where did they go right for them. India won the second ODI convincingly by 99 runs as the powerful middle-order clicked and India made 354 with a brilliant 124 by Dhoni and solid half-centuries by Gambhir and Raina. Then there was ‘a partnership made in batting heaven’ as one analysis headline said after the Delhi game. Comfortable six-wicket win in the end and India took a 2-1 lead going to Mohali.

India then had one of their best days in the field restricting Australia to 250 on a good surface. The fielding was sharp and was rewarded by four run-outs, the best being the most-crucial one of Ponting by a direct throw from Jadeja. The expression of Dhoni running towards square-leg with a gloved arm pointing towards Jadeja in the deep told the story of how brilliant a piece of fielding it was. The second half of Mohali is where India lost the whole series.

After the loss of the seventh Australian wicket, earlier in the day, they managed to add 14 more runs to their total. After the seventh Indian wicket was gone, the Indian team added 49 more runs and yet lost by 24 runs. Tendulkar’s score of 40 was the highest for an Indian top-order batsman and 40 was the lowest score among the 4 top order batsmen who scored runs for Australia. Tendulkar got a poor lbw decision but he also had himself to blame by playing back to a tossed up delivery that could have been hit for a six with lesser risk.

This side has been as Australian as any before and, therefore, it is a good time to reflect on what Sir Geoffrey Boycott was talking with Harsha Bhogle during India’s 2002-03 tour of Australia. Boycott was saying that if you’ve got an Aussie team down, you keep it down and keep pressing the foot ruthlessly because if you give an inch, you won’t know when they would rise and come back to hit you. Harsha smiled and said that’s so typically English Geoffrey, always afraid of the Aussies. Boycott also smiled in return but he knew what he was talking about as that history is now over 132 years old.

Sehwag had a poor series where he could not convert any start to a seventy or eighty that would have made a difference. Tendulkar played the innings of the series and perhaps of the past many seasons of limited overs cricket in Hyderabad while chasing 350. You could see it coming as he has been in outstanding form and is a deeply conscientious cricketer if the team is not benefiting and he is not able to contribute.
Ian Chappell saying that India is fine if Tendulkar makes runs while the team loses is prejudiced analysis without real basis as that is what Australia wants and it has been reported in the Aussie media more than a few times.

Out of the four matches that Australia won three of them were tight finishes that India could have won had they been a bit more tenacious. Australia had no chance in the two games that India won comprehensively. Application and the mental toughness needed to take your team through in pressure is what counts. India could have taken the series 5-1 if they had a bit of that unyielding quality.

Against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy Australia just needed 36 runs in 60 balls with 6 wickets in hand; in 42 balls Pakistan just gave 18 runs and took 4 wickets. That is called an almighty collapse but Australia still got the last 18 without any further damage. India’s work in three games was much easier than what it was for Hauritz and Brett Lee against Pakistan but one needs that quality of slugging it out till the last ounce of blood and sweat and that is what India has lacked not the talent as Dhoni pointed out.

Mr. Adkins and Mr. Velez will agree about one thing, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. I present my opposing argument; ATP is continuously synthesized with no apparent source within my labrador, Emma. I have never witnessed her tire nor have I seen her sleep for more than 5 minutes. She is the antithesis to natural law and reason, she does not grow tired no matter how many “walkies” I take her on or how many oversized toys she retrieves, she simply will not weaken.  I have attributed this unearthy ability to her inherent “puppiness” (despite being almost four years old) as well as her fun-loving nature. If one were to theoretically have her run behind a car on a leash (only theoretically) for a given amount of time the most likely outcome would be that the car would run out of fuel before she did. This astounding gift of spontaneous ATP production and consumtion has resulted in many hours of weariness in her owner and an equal if not greater amount of happiness. Emma is a stark contrast to her kin, Charlotte (pictured in the back of the image, lounging around as usual) in that they possess quite different personalities. Charlotte would most likely be reincarnated as a basking sloth while Emma would be assured a return as a Cheetah or Leopard. Despite Emma’s hyperactive nature and troublesome personality, there is no other dog (barring Charlotte)  I would ever consider loving to the same degree.

Casey Stoner – Strepitoso. Parte come un fulmine, poi fulmina Pedrosa e decide di fare un altro sport.
Non riusciamo a capire come faccia a dare due secondi al giro a tutti quando la pista è cosi allagata.
Fantastico.

Daniel Pedrosa – Cresciuto. Sul bagnato intendo. Prima volta per lui sul podio in Motogp in queste condizioni. Ha il merito di non cedere alla pressione di Dovizioso prima e soprattutto di Rossi poi, dimostrando che se non è in bagarre e può impostare il suo ritmo riesce ad essere veloce anche con pista viscida.

Valentino Rossi – Campione del mondo. Alla prima curva sbaglia tutto arrivando lungo e dopo poco Lorenzo lo sorpassa. Poteva finire male questa gara ma Rossi ha troppa esperienza per buttare al vento occasioni cosi grandi; si rimbocca le maniche e piano piano risale fino al podio, il posto giusto per festeggiare.Nona perla di una straordinaria carriera.

Jorge Lorenzo – Mai domo. Durante il giro di riallineamento rientra ai box ed è costretto a partire dal fondo della griglia. Non demorde e in una staccata passa metà dei piloti in pista.
Lotta con Rossi, ben sapendo che per tenere aperto il mondiale doveva solo vincere e sperare che Rossi facesse peggio di quarto; impresa impossibile.
Cede alla fine al compagno, ma quest’anno è stato lui il più grosso grattacapo per il Dottore. Complimenti.

Nicky Hayden – Cresciuto anche lui. Ora sembra domare molto bene la belva rossa, anche se i livelli di Stoner sono irrangiungibili e forse per lui lo saranno sempre.Comunque sia con grande impegno e spirito di sacrificio ha mostrato come si possano fare passi avanti nonostante la moto sembri all’apparenza inguidabile. Melndri dovrebbe imparare da lui.

Chris Vermeulen – Mago della pioggia. La Suzuki è universalmente riconosciuta come la moto più scarsa dell’era motogp e solo condizioni limite, dove conta il manico, un pilota come Chris può far vedere quanto vale. Prossimo anno in SBK con Kawasaki, speriamo in meglio.

Andrea Dovizioso – Delusione. Era terzo, Rossi stava recuperando ma Andrea riusciva a tenere il passo di Pedrosa, giunto secondo. Un altro errore che va a sommarsi a tanti altri commessi in questa stagione, vuoi per una moto inadatta alle sue caratteristiche, vuoi per forzare troppo nel tentativo di agguantare i fantastici quattro. Vedremo il prossimo anno.

Can you feel the warmth?

Early morning in the basin, everything is still. Chrome and Traveler were still close with their families; in fact, Iya was hanging out with Chrome and Jif and Hayden again.

Traveler’s had started to go up this hill, on this side of the drainage, and Chrome’s – with Iya – had started up a hill to the left.

From the top of “Chrome’s hill” looking across at Terra and Houdini.

A little closer

A little earlier – Cuatro and Terra

A little sun … a little shade … a beautiful silver …

A little nourishment for the littlest.

I drove up into the northwest section of the basin, looking for Kreacher’s where I’d seen them the day before and any sign of Duke – nada nobody. But as I drove, I was thinking about the “bottle tree” I cleaned up last year in the wake of the people at Wildcat Spring. Remember it?

Taken Nov. 2, 2008.

You’d never believe …

Taken Nov. 7, 2009; same tree.

I saw everybody else during the day but Molly and Liberty and the pintos (and the aforementioned Kreacher’s band and Duke), including Poco and Roach. They were too far for good pictures, just over the ridge from Seven’s, Bounce’s and Cinch, Bruiser and Twister. Steeldust was entertaining the remainder of the bachelors near Round Top. David and Shadow were out on the saddle, so I know they’re staying close to that water source, which is interior and safer at least.

The wind picked up about mid-morning, apparently trying to make up for the early morning stillness. Most of the sky was bright blue except for a long trail of clouds that kept the sun mostly – weirdly – obscured and kept us mostly under shade after that first glorious hour of the day.

Snow coming again.

Filippo Preziosi direttore generale di Ducati Corse

Filippo preziosi, Direttore generale di Ducati Corse, 39 anni ha sempre avuto le moto e la Ducati nel sangue.  A 24 anni si laurea con il massimo dei voti in Ingegneria Meccanica a Bologna. Due anni dopo, nel 1994, entra in Ducati diventando a novembre dello stesso anno Responsabile dell’Ufficio Tecnico delle Corse. Da lì comincia la sua carriera, che passando per la Superbike, lo vede oggi Direttore Generale Ducati Corse e principale fautore del miracolo della casa di Borgo Panigale: il ritorno ai vertici della Motogp e la continua crescita fino alla vittoria del Campionato del Mondo nel 2007. Il resto è storia.

Stoner dopo lo stop forzato per problemi di salute è rientrato alla grande, mettendo a tacere le voci che lo davano addirittura prossimo ad un ritiro dalle competizioni. Avete mai avuto paura che questo ritiro fosse davvero possibile? Conosciamo Casey, io e Ducati non abbiamo mai pensato che potesse ritirarsi e lui stesso non ha mai palesato l’intenzione di smettere di correre. Sicuramente si è trovato in una condizione fisica molto difficile per cui ha pensato che l’unica cosa che poteva fare era riposarsi.

Stoner ha lottato fino all’ultimo per un podio in campionato. Senza lo stop di quest’anno sarebbe stato il terzo incomodo nella lotta Rossi-Lorenzo? Sicuramente nel momento in cui ha cominciato a stare male, cioè nella gara di Barcellona, Casey era competitivo perché era in testa nel mondiale e arrivavano delle piste nelle quali Ducati si era rivelata molto forte. Chiaramente questo è uno dei motivi per cui lui è rimasto più dispiaciuto di doversi fermare; sentiva di avere una moto con la quale poteva essere competitivo fino alla fine ma fisicamente non era in grado di farlo.

Come giudichi la stagione 2009 della Ducati? Una stagione molto difficile. Bisogna però guardare sempre il lato buono delle cose, abbiamo ritrovato un pilota fortissimo (Casey) che si trova a suo agio con la nostra moto. Nicky Hayden ha fatto quinto nel Gp della Malesia e un podio a Indianapolis, nelle ultime gare da Barcellona in poi è sempre stato competitivo per cui penso che abbia superato le difficoltà della prima metà della stagione.

“Rolling Stoner” (letteralmente pietra rotolante) era il soprannome di Casey per la propensione alle cadute. Nel 2007 cosa vi ha fatto decidere di puntare fortemente su di lui? Casey nelle categorie minori e poi anche nel 2006 era caduto spesso ma aveva dimostrato di essere molto veloce e si vedeva che aveva un grandissimo talento. Credo sia più facile che un pilota velocissimo diventi molto regolare piuttosto che uno regolarissimo diventi molto  veloce. Questo è un principio che vale sempre nelle moto e quindi anche per lui.

IL TESTO INTEGRALE DELL’INTERVISTA SARA’ PUBBLICATO SU TICINO PASSION SPORT

Hayden’s got some new nerf guns, primer, paint, stencils and a paint booth…

…more to come!

The Master, in most of the mystic religious sects around the world is a man that can be described as the finite form of the infinite. The word is used in most of the religions of the East; like in Japan, where an ‘enlightened’ Zen monk is referred to as a Master. The 20th Century American writer J.D. Salinger, known largely for his ‘unusually brilliant’ and ‘controversial’ book The Catcher In The Rye used a Japanese ‘haiku’ (poem) in his book Franny and Zooey, first published as a story in two parts in The New Yorker magazine as Franny in 1955 and Zooey in 1957. The haiku by Kobayashi Issa (1763 – 1828) translated in English goes:

O Snail,
Climb Mount Fuji,
But slowly, slowly!

There are many interpretations of the haiku and one way of looking at it is that man can reach the summit by having the endurance to overcome adversity. Forgive me for digressing but this is the closest that I can come to describing the mastery of the man who is popularly known as the Little Master around the cricketing world. An old Japanese proverb says that a wise man climbs Mount Fuji once in his life and only a fool climbs it again; the implied meaning for the fool here is that it is so tough and has such inclement weather that only the really-daring would go again.

If Mount Fuji had a cricketing equivalent then Tendulkar is the man who has been living at the summit for just a few days less than 20 years now. There is no typhoon greater than the one he can still generate and there is no one from his time who has survived the hostile weather of international cricket with such elegance that even the violence that flows from his blade looks like the serene poise of a Zen monk.

On the eve of the fifth game in Hyderabad, the Indian captain MS Dhoni said, “Top order batsmen need to bat well and not rely on the lower order. If you are playing with seven batsmen, it’s better to get a big score from six of them rather than use the seventh, who we call as a backup batsman, especially when you are chasing. If one among the top order gets a big score it becomes easy for us as the others can rotate around him.”

The man on top of everything heeded the captain’s call and apart from another one at number six, no one else found it easy to rotate around him. Australia had belted 350, riding on the momentum they had picked when India had dropped it in the second-half of the ODI in Mohali.

For Australia just the top order came out to bat and everyone scored above a run a ball. Shaun Marsh and Watson scored 112 and 97 respectively. Ponting made a run-a-ball 45 and White and Hussey gave the finishing kick.

No matter what the conditions and the trueness of the wicket, chasing 350 is the cricketing equivalent of climbing Mount Fuji; and it was too stiff a climb for one man to pull the weight of 9 others. Apart from Tendulkar—who made a sparkling 175 in 141 balls studded with 19 square jewels and four large-sized pearls—the other significant contribution in the chase came in the form of a 59 from Raina at number 6. The 38 from Sehwag and the 23 from Jadeja had the possibility of becoming significant but Sehwag played one shot too many and Jadeja for the second time in the series ran as if his run out was essential to India’s victory.

If I look at the top 5 then it was just one man who made it possible that the game came down to holding one’s nerve in the end. At the stage where 19 runs were needed in 18 balls with four wickets in hand and a set Tendulkar batting as good as he ever had; the match was India’s to lose.

Tendulkar single-handedly kept India in the hunt; he played the booming drives, the lofted on the rise strokes clearing the inner circle, the delicate and the furious square cuts. He used the pace of the bowlers, when his deft touch was needed to place the ball behind the wicket on either side. Tendulkar danced down the wicket to hit the spinners out of the attack. He played perfect chip shots and the pulls that went along the ground. The Master bisected the boundary raiders using his wrists as if they were meant to solve a geometric problem. He dusted his cupboard to bring out a pull shot that sailed for a six over midwicket. He played with a fearless flamboyance so that the newcomers could adjust to the wicket without worrying about the run-rate.

Earlier, as Australia had preserved wickets, their late charge added 90 runs in 48 balls for the team. The way the Little Master had calculated and scored from the beginning and then in a big partnership with Raina; his team needed just 52 runs in the last 48 balls. The Aussie bowling had been thrashed, mainly by Tendulkar and to an extent by Sehwag and Raina. Two overs changed the game after Tendulkar and Raina had put India completely in front. The first of the two overs was the 43rd and the second was the 48th. In the 43rd over bowled by Watson, one run came for the loss of Raina and Harbhajan.

It has been such a series for Australia that it would not be surprising if an Aussie tourist is picked and brought to the ground in case Ponting suddenly finds that he is left with only 10 fit men for a game. The score-line says 3-2 in Australia’s favour and that is a massive achievement by an inexperienced as well as an injury-hit team that Ponting leads. I don’t think I’ll see a headline that says ‘India out to hit injury-hit Australia’ again in this series at least.

In the 48th over again two wickets fell for 3 runs. A crestfallen Tendulkar departed to a rising ovation off the first ball of the over. From the beginning he knew how to climb this summit; he created and shaped the reply knowing exactly where and how to take a risk and to keep his companions steady. There was nothing that could stop him in Hyderabad and even after the dismissal of Raina and Harbhajan; 32 more runs were added between Jadeja and Tendulkar.

And then the Master came down from the peak and made an error of judgement; as in that form no bowler could have taken his wicket had he kept his shot selection on the cautious side. After the dismissal he saw his work of art falling short just like it did in Chennai 1999. He had been phenomenal in Hyderabad but in the presentation ceremony he looked the most-disappointed and the-most forlorn man. Tendulkar knows it very well that the infinite is expected of the Master. And he knows that people forgive everyone but they never forgive a genius.