The Playoffs

This was the first time I have not seen the playoffs live after 6 years. Yet reading and looking at stats still keeps this sport a special place in my life. Here are so far my observations
Eastern Conference:

Toronto Raptors: Sam Mitchell is the coach of the year. After the era of vinsanity the Raptors have grouped themselves back into playoff mode. Three people involved in this process: Colangelo, Mitchell and Bosh. Chris Bosh has become the ultimate leader for this team. The man has risen from a scrappy highschool kid to a leading offensive power. The more Toronto molds its team, the coming years they are going to be one of the prominent playoffs team to watch out for.

New Jersey Nets: The team that eliminated Toronto in the first round in my opinion is standing on a thin fine thread. The trios of VJK (Vince, Jefforson, Kidd) I think are at the last straws for the team to change eventually. Mainly the effective change from NJ to Brook line might make the management to rebuild this team after playoffs. I don't think this trio can hold the fort anymore if they don't get deep in the playoffs which I think is doubtful with the King playing phenomenal.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Lebron is the Next Jordan? Well he certainly is playing like it. Cleveland over the last few years has risen from disappointments to Knighthood. Gone are the days of the reign man (aka Shawn Kemp), the disappointing run of the big Z trying to make any impact as a big man. The never endless trades and the jersey color changes. Now this team is making the buck count and they are playing serious basketball. Cleveland I am hoping will make the finals of the Eastern conference. Will they make it to the finals, I don't know.

Washington Wizards: The wizards started with the magic and ended with a witch up their ass. Loosing the big two Arenas and Butler, they were smothered to pieces by the Cavs. In honesty you can't blame them. They were geared to enter the playoffs with a great mode, but the end injuries really cost them. Jamison has proven to be the player that cannot carry the team single handily, mainly with the emergence of Arenas who has become the Team main leader. Perhaps next year they will be able to group and get players who can compensate with injuries.

Detroit Pistons: Detroit is going to the finals!!! In my opinion Detroit has risen to an extra level this year. The loss of Ben Wallace (aka the machine) hasn't affected their team chemistry. Adding Webber and Mohammed; plus the emergence of Maxiell and old man Davis, they have compensated the losses and created the victory. No team I feel in the east really can push Detroit to the brink. It will interesting how Detroit will do in the finals.

Orlando Magic: Magic should have been the number one team in the east, instead they chirped along to become the last playoff spot team. After having a great start in the regular season, they seem to be dilly dolling around the entire season. Of course the old curse of Grant Hill’s injuries came to haunt the team. Howard was the plus point, and he has become a monster on the boards. JJ Reddick was more in the bench than on the court. Even though they had Hill, I felt they were an inexperienced team for the playoffs. Hopefully they will do better next year. Even though I was disappointed with this team, they have certainly improved a lot. They just need to tighten the ends and build themselves to a strong team.

Chicago Bulls: Bulls Pistons rivalry is back. Bulls’ edition of Ben Wallace has been effective. Injuries have only created friction in the team's losses. Their run and gun way of playing will get better and the young ones (hinrich, Gordon, Deng) are getting better every year. The Trashing of last year champs the Heat proves how good this team has become. It will be interesting to see how Chicago bounces back from the 2-0 loss to Detroit.

Miami Heat: seven times fall and the eight time Miami did not get up. Injury of Wade was no excuse for this team. Shaq and crew could not compensate Wade's Injury. Perhaps the toughest heart break to take was the old timers trying to prove their worth. Payton and Walker could have been on the Phoenix suns and still would have not been able to contribute anything. Jason Williams and Wade’s injuries were more costly to the team than ever and Shaq being out of the season far too long hurt this team’s morale. They were not the same Miami Heat as last year. They were withered and even with the return of Eddie Jones who was the only plus point, in my opinion were not even credible to make the playoffs. The exit and re-entry of Pat Riley was even more confusing, and this team just fell apart in the playoffs. Perhaps next year the team will start rebuilding and bringing in fresher talent.

Western Conference:

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavs may have had the best season in their history. The Mavs may have a MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs may have Mark Cuban, but what Mavs never had was the Baron and his Warriors to ramp through them with Nelson on their back. The biggest upset in playoffs history, maybe but I really think Dallas was playing the same kind of basketball from last year. It was just that Dirk stepped up his game and so did Josh Howard. Other than that they had the same problems of defense and holding the court. Avery Johnson might be surprised how the Warriors creamed them. But it was his mentor Donnie Nelson who led the group. Come on don’t you think the mentor will know how to take of his apprentice. Nelson put the puzzles together and broke down the Mavs. But credit has to be given to this team. They played their heart out in the season. Hopefully they will be able to show better success next year.

Golden State Warriors: Surprised!!! I don’t think so. The warriors should have made the playoffs last year. The injury of Baron put them out the spot. This year it was a different story. The exit of Jr. Dunlevy and Murphy, enter Harrington, Bad boy Jackson. The team turned into a defensive powerhouse. Equipped with three pointer ability this team went from the worst of the pacific division to a playoff contending team. All thanks should go to Donnie Nelson, who made use of the defensive capabilities adding his full court press techniques which he used in Dallas. Warriors can go deep in the playoffs if they play the way did against Dallas. Else Utah is going to sweep them

Utah Jazz: Has Jerry Sloan found his next dynamic pair? Boozer and Williams are starting the bring the old days of macho hardcore defense. Adding Andrei Kirilenko to the mix, and Derek Fisher finally in a team that is credible with his style and passion, the Jazz have stepped up the game. They are actually fun to watch now. The closest and the only tough series of the first round, the Jazz took care of the counter-texas parts into a seventh game victory. Now the Jazz seem to do the same with the Warriors breaking them down with defense. Sloan techniques may be old but so effective. Carlos Boozer has broken away from people mocking him after he left Cleveland to lead a team, and now has stepped up to prove his potential. The Jazz may shock us by reaching the finals, the way they are going.

Houston Rockets: The Rockets have had a see saw ride for the past two years. Last year it was Mcgrady who was injured. This year it was Yao. Plus the new editions apart from defensive horse Battier weren’t effective to prove themselves in the playoff arena. One plus point is that Mcgrady is starting to play better and better. He is starting to rock from the Magic days. Yao is starting to show signs of domination but needs to bring his game to a better level. Next year should be a year to think to the future mainly the fact I don’t know when old man Mutombo is going to fall of his back.

San Antonio Spurs: Same team, same chemistry, and same coach pop. The spurs have regrouped and are ready to take their opponents down. It will be interesting to see how long this team keeps trying and not reaching the ultimate goal. The Nuggets series was not that close for them to prove. Once they tightened the screws the Nuggets really didn’t stand a chance. Good move on putting Ginobili of the bench. He is playing once again a lot better. Will they reach the finals? it will be interesting to see. Jazz and Spurs for the western conference finals that will be really interesting.

Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets had everything to go for them. Defensive player of the year, entrance of AI into the mix, Nene healthy and playing alive, what went wrong? Perhaps it was the fact they were not gelling. Next year I feel this team will come a lot stronger and tougher. Playing a team which has consecutively been playing for the past 4 years together is difficult. The spurs just nudged their way into this team and broke them down. But I was impressed with AI influence into a new team. Next year I wish him better luck

Phoenix Suns: Nash is MVP for this year. "More than anything, I just try to not lose my motivation. Sometimes, you have to be creative. Sometimes, you have to fight through it. Sometimes, you have a lot of fun. The basis for everything is working hard, making a plan and setting goals for yourself. Not just working and hoping that your improvement is made. You have to work with a purpose."—Steve Nash. Suns have ramped through his season and have looked better and stronger. I think they have the potential to take the trophy. Only problem, how they can handle teams such as SA and DP.

LA Lakers: Kobe can score how many points he wants. Phil Jackson can sit on his ass and contemplate on his old days. Odom can cry that his shoulder hurts. Only thing the Lakers have for them is their flashy trends and their gay entourage. Luke Walton needs to think of joining a team like Miami and Detroit where he will be of more value. The Lakers have the looked the same from last year, depending on only man that is Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson needs to step aside and retire. The organization needs a revamp. You can’t blame Kobe for trying so hard, because the others can’t pretty much do squat on the team. It will be interesting to see what changes occur next year.

So far the Playoffs have been going with unexpected twists and turns. But some teams seem to be constant from last year: Pistons, Suns and the Spurs. We just have to see who will win this year.

*Pictures courtesy of NBA.com

fireworks in the midst of the madness

It was July of 94 around 6:00 in the morning on a Thursday. Chris one my best friends from school crashed in my place as he always did. Thursday was a holiday in Yemen. Our weekends were Thursday and Friday and Thursday was Youth group. It was pretty much half the students we knew in school. Mr. Dewitt our P.E. coach ran the Youth group and it was one of best experiences in my childhood. The day always started with pickup ball in Ron Dewitt's house while the girls will watch a movie or just enjoy the day off. There were always crates of Pepsi, coke, pouring down in our stomachs. There was Braden and Josie, the Dewitt siblings who were always the center of attraction. In the afternoon it was discussion time where we discussed the Bible. On this day though this was all not meant to be; That July morning two f-15 Jets would bomb the Sana’a International airport. The airport was close to my house so when the bombs crashed the resonance was immensely loud. Though in my mind I would be sleeping through all this; I never heard the bombs go. I only heard the voice of Chris and my dad shouting to get my butt of bed and get to the living room. When I woke up completely I did not realize what was going on. Suddenly we heard gun firing rapidly. We all sat in the living room where there were no windows nearby hoping that there were no windows shattering next to us. After about 45 minutes there was silence. I never heard that kind of silence before. There were no cars honking, no birds chirping, no kids running down the street. Instead it was like a dead town.

Within a few hours, Chris's dad came over to pick him up and while hearing the discussion with my dad, I realized that things did not look good. We started locking up the back doors and shutting some of the windows. My dad made me bring all the beds to the living room and we would put our dining table top the beds. This way we would avoid anything which falls on us if there was bomb shatter. I walked across the street to our grocery store and got water and groceries for the rest of the week. It was declared curfew and by the end of the day, the silence crept and the city would go quiet again.

The power was shut down and the clear skies took over the night. I had never seen a clear sky like that before and Jen and I were sitting in her room looking up and enjoying the view. We could hear the army patrolling as the tanks the troops would pass by. Then the scud missiles started away and at that time my eyes lit up. You see I was always into fire works. It was always something I looked as a triumph of victory or rejoicing for an occasion. And this was awesome. They flew so rapidly one after one and it looked like a flash of light just whizzing through. Then you would hear the bombings. The low thunder would resonate over the land and the ak47s would rapidly beat with rhythm of the skies. I was so excited to look at them, that every time the missiles would go by I would keep admiring them more and more. At the age of fourteen you see all this as surreal. I did not realize how the situation was intense. I saw my mum with a bible in her hand while my dad was smoking his cigarette as usual and pondering in a deep thought. I never realized why these missiles were fired and to who. This was the first day of the war.

By the time I left Yemen due to the fact it become not safe for my family due to my dad’s work, we were evacuated after 2-3 weeks by US B-52, where they evacuated all the Americans and American affiliates. Upon leaving I found why those missiles were fired. Just before all that the hospital close by to us was bombed and in retaliation the north fired back. As a kid you are aware what is right or wrong in a war. You grow up watching movies such as dirty dozen, a bridge too far and you fascinated by guns and bombs. In all reality it was fight between the same people, the same class, and the same ethnicity.

Some of us have bad experiences with war. We see things that we are not supposed to see. It affects us mentally as well as physically. We want to forget and never remember it. But in that midst of all that chaos and bloodshed, for me for that one moment of silence I looked up to the skies with joy and thanked the Lord that I was able to experience all this.

The First Amendment

Have we ever thought to ourselves that our ideals are questioned in our time of need? A couple of days back one of my good friends quoted "we have to fend for ourselves...we cannot trust the system to help us always". It got me thinking to see where our ideals have been placed. I have been closely following the whole immigration debate and the number one concern for most senators is the idealistic point of view of the immigration. The idea that America is the land of the freedom and anyone should have the right and privilege to settle down in this nation. The undermining of this philosophy is that not everyone has the privilege to do this. We have to struggle and fill endless number of paper work to prove that you belong here. What is to mean to be an American? At the age of eleven I started learning American History. My first quiz I remember was to recite the first amendment "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” It is the fundamental philosophy of the American political lifestyle and the most disputed one of all. The freedom of speech, the famous discussion that resonates in our minds and our hearts. We can question it as well as support it. Yet the question of immigration comes along it is never a clear cut solution.

Senator Kennedy pointed out in of his one of his speeches during the debate that most illegal aliens are no different from most Americans. They come into this country to provide for their family. Most of them are good people with a strong Christian background. Yet they broke the law by coming in illegally. Therefore the consideration that they could be just set free or face heavy consequences has disputed the American community. But the biggest question I think we should ask ourselves is how much as America influenced the rest of the world and changed people's ideas of a better life?

I am a liberal republican. From the age of eleven I have been under the American influence. I started going to the international school in Yemen and from there my knowledge of America grew more and more where I was more adaptable to the society. Being termed a TCK I always found it difficult to cultivate who I am. I am an Indian by birth but my influence of the Indian society goes as far as my family. Yes it is true I have some of the core principals that I carry which are Indian but I think more now in the American way than how an Indian would. It is because I have become accustomed and influenced by it. But the influence actually started when my father joined Caltex in 1975 and he being influenced and opened by the American dream I would say had the greatest impact in my life. When I came here to Boston in 2000 it was the easiest transition for me.

My best friends are the full breaded Americans. They influenced me in many ways of my thoughts and my actions. Music, food, lifestyle, upbringing, these are the things I was able to understand in this culture and how things worked. Most Americans are hard working people. There is an upbringing of making it out on your own. The individualistic ideas that shape you and you determine how your life is to be shaped. The freedom to say what you want to say. The Democratic idea that a man or a woman is free to do what he or she wants to do and say what you want to say as long as the laws are followed. I have lived in countries where this is just an idea but never the philosophy. This philosophy has influenced many cultures due to the ever growing American venture on the global market. Yet according to a piece of paper and a document I am not considered an American.

What is process to become an American or to be broader what is the philosophy of becoming a citizen in the country? Is it determined by just a paper for you to be acknowledged or is the philosophy of it all? Is it wrong for me to think this way where I have been more influenced by a different culture than my own?

When I finished college and no idea of what to do, the biggest problem I faced was immigration. I saw people around where they would take under the table jobs. Yes man does need to survive, so therefore he/she does turn against the law. I refused to that. I believed in the system. Even though 9/11 happened and all the Wars that are going along and with the economy trying to regain itself, I knew the system will fix itself over time. I believed that waiting patiently and trying to believe that God will bring sanity and stability is all I had. I did not have money and I relied on my friends who graciously helped me. I struggled to make things mend. I was rejected in my job opportunities where sponsorship was the biggest problem and they were blindly to turn away. Even in my previous job at Berklee, they would not look at me due to the fact that the system did not permit them to. Yet I told myself I will not break the law and I will follow and struggle to make it. Why do we have to fend for ourselves? Then what is the use of the government? If I am a good candidate for the job why am I been questioned on my nationality rather that whether I will be influential to the American community?

I see most Americans are sometimes unaware of some of the cultures. I feel that if I could explain to them where I saw it and how I experienced it, they would understand other cultures and how things work better. I saw this in my friends when they made their trip Singapore and Malaysia, they were easily adapting because they were aware of things that I talked to them about.

If I am a product of the American influence and the dream, why am I being always questioned of my rights to live here and that a paper has to be determined that I belong here? I have not broken the law by trying to get a job where it is not legal. I truly believe with my background I can understand people and work for a better influence. This is just not me but there are thousands of other people who are influence just like me.

The immigration debate has opened our eyes to see where the system has failed. It has not given a person like me any opportunity to grown in this society. May be just because I am young I do not understand the complexity of the system and why a simple guy like me can live and work here without the hassles and try to progress in society and influence it. It has given the opportunity for an illegal but for me who tries to follow the system by believing in the rights has no end to this debate.

That big Green House

When Joey, Allen and me first saw Imrie house I thought it was a dump. Three years later realize it was a place of haven where a bond will build between close friends. We all know the value of true friendship. It builds and grows over the years and we start understanding each other by not even verbally communicating. Using words such as "yesh", "VG", "not el much" as friends it was very common for each other acknowledge that we are doing allright or things are going good. How is that when we all have our own lives that at some point when you join the Imrie boys together time is endless?

Allen Carrescia (aka Italian Stalian) : Allen was the Godfather. He was the Marquis of Imrie. He brought the group pretty much together. The first time I met Allen his famous quote "school pants" came into effect. He was the straight forward conservative liberal. Believed in the church and his outlook and his upbringing brought him out as a strong leader. If Allen never was in the music business he could be a great entrepenuer. Allen became the authority were he assigned everyone to duties in terms of bills and house maintaince. He always believed in doing the right thing and he would stand for it. He was the so-called elder brother in the whole group.

Eric Espiritu (aka Mogli): Eric and I went back to the days of Berklee dorms where we watched basketball from the internet. He became the side kick of Allen in the house and eventually will become the co-founder with his friend Majid and myself to create nonsense Imrish language. Talented with his guitar, Eric can pull out any tune if he just listens to it once or twice. The best quality for Eric is he believes in best of everyone. He believes everyone can progress higher because he believes that they can do it.

Christian Lehman (aka Boomer) : The youngest of the group, Lehman became one of my best friends and like a little big brother. Young by age but wiser than his age group Christian and me met on the green grass of Imrie. Guitarist by birth Christian is the young god father since the depature of allen. Christian and me can hang out and enjoy our company by not even saying a word for 6 hours. An integral part of the Imrish lifestyle Christian is still moving up in this world and living his life out.

Ethan Mentzer (aka MOM): Ethan was the slow spoken Pennsylvanian dutch boy. His room was the old grandma's bedroom. With his counterpart Romansky, he is one of a kind. that's all you can say

Ben Romans (aka Romansky): Ben was the eccentric genius who became the social chair of the group. what can you say about Ben well: Slip and slide, printer drop out, emersen wild fair, and his famous duck words "Oh My God!!"

Nate Campany (aka Bruce): Nate is one my long time friends from dorms. The outgoing beard man bruce, Nate was the big mouth of the Imrie house. Arguing over anything he would bring excitment even in a video game. Nate's artistic talents are enourmous. One of my favorite song writers Nate seems to show his talents slowly to the rest of the world and soon Nathanial Campany of Cleveland Heights will be known.

Joe Guesse (aka the doctor): Joe was the MAN. Take Hemingway and take Jefferson and put them together. An outstanding political talker Joe and me I feel can rock down the senate and go against any senator. A genius who did not need education to prove himself and a true friend who believed in the goodness of people, this catholic boy sure knows what he is talking about.

Joey Zehr (aka white chocolate): Joey was the integral part of the social life in Imrie. He dazzled the group by introducing hot girls and his outgoing personality. A talented drummer and muscian he truly brought out Imrie. Without Joey my life in boston would have been so different. He is truly a brother. After knowing him from the first day of moving to dorms Joey and me go a long way. Expressing everything open he always brought the humor and the practicality of enjoying life.

Jamie Alter (aka 10th roomate): Jamie is my blood brother. After knowing him for 10 years there is not much you can say expect BACARDI AND COLA. Jamie's lifestlye came into Imrie after he moved from Ohio and lived in my room for a brief time. He was the unofficial roomate who hanged out!! James and me have lived through it all!!!

Ashwin Raj (aka shwin): The only Indian apart from Jamie (the indian ferang) I came to Boston thinking that it is an another place just like the others I have lived in. Yet I found my experiences here the most awarding. Joining the Network department in Berklee as an administrator and learning the culture of US I learned and taught and lived with the Imrie boys.

To take all of us and mix into the melting pot we truly have enriched our lives. Joey, Joe, ethan and Ben went on to become the Click five. Eric is one the verge of breaking out with his band as the Teenage Symphonies. Nate's solo work has been a blessing and he is moving up in the music business world. Christian still young and is moving up in the Paradice Rock club. Jamie found his dream job by joining Wisden cricket and is starting to enjoy his work. And Allen nows owns a record label company along with his band.

But at the end of the day you bring all these characteristics together you will only hear these word "AAH YESH...WARY GEWD"

the next stalin

Every time you see in this corporate world of business you see leaders step out of their ordinary lives and produce mass amounts of money that makes their business really profitable. These are the people that will venture into the work place and climb up the ladder in the ranks and will show the overall characteristics to step up as a leader. These are the people I would most respect in life. But how do they actually do it?

In an exercise which was done in a class a key characteristic of business ethics: responsibility. “Doing what should be done” and taking care things and getting it done to the deadline. Organization I believe is the key to success in business. If all things are organized properly then in general all business will run successful. Organization does not mean necessarily paper work but rather the ability to transition with your work force efficiently.

Part of the manager’s key focus should be the fact of the global workforce of diversity. This does not mean just international workers in the office. This means managing even the local employees who could be from such diverse communities. I think a manager has to assess and learn from different work thought or approaches that he or she may be able to adapt of the style their co-workers see their working style. I know from a personal experience about this where working back home is totally a different environment than working in the U.S. The hierarchy of scale is apparent back home more and communication is done in a ladder basis whereas U.S. business is run that everyone is equal to voice their opinion. Now it does not mean that the ideal manager will define himself or herself as necessarily approachable person; that is where the behavior concept comes into place.

Part of a good manager’s technique should be the willing to understand and comprehend his fellow employees. This goes to the fact a strong leader may not be a risk-taker or the risk adverse person, but rather could he see the long run or the short run of the decisions that he/she is making. The biggest characteristic of an individual is willing to accept failure. Through failure you realize the mistakes and will try to make yourself a better person to lead. This also has to do with motivation.

Motivation is one of the key characteristics that drive a company and its workforce. Motivation brings the success and the failures. But without motivation a company could crumble. Part of this has to do with needs of the individual. Are you in this workforce due to financial needs or proving to something you think that needs change for the betterment of the company. Both of these approaches will motivate the person to work different ways in the business. But determination of whether he/she is inclined to his/her financial needs or a power struggle could be understood more to do with the position the person upholds.

Job designs and structures determine the person’s ability and approach of what he/she is expecting. So therefore it is simple to see that a person who is a janitor is only there because he either only qualified to do hard labor or the fact that money is involved. It supports the person so therefore it is easy for him/her to say that at the end of the month there will be a paycheck. Whereas a person who is the VP of operations would have more needs than a financial pride to himself/herself. It would be a power struggle. They would like to be the one to motivate someone. This has to do with goal settings and performances.

Without goals a person would loose interest in the workplace. Constantly if there is a drive and a goal that has been presented to them they would approach their position with more responsibility. But managers are the one that would set the goals or try to reach the goals the better way. Because of a reward system in most companies’ goals can be a great way to make the motivation work faster and the whole teamwork comes into place.

Communication and group dynamics would be the important aspects in creating group awareness in the company. Most successful companies create a great dynamic group structure that they are proud of working for such a company in general. Communication is the key to the manager’s biggest internal success. If the manager is willing to listen and understand his employees, he would be able to get work done much faster than a person who believes that his approach is the right way and the rest really do not matter.

Finally what makes a good leader? Looking into all these characteristics and concept expressed by Moorhead I believe as an individual getting ready to meet the marketplace it gives us an awareness of how we approach business. I believe I am a person who takes responsibility in the workplace seriously. I do like things organized so that things would make more sense when transition is needed. But the biggest defect for me I believe is the fact that I expect perfection. This has made me sometimes miss assignments and get the work done. Most effectively if I was to be a manager, I would like to be the person that could be approachable and confident that I would be able to get the work done.

Economics of Cricket

If India is considered as the big beast of cricket, then the ICC should be considered as the poorest organizations in world sport organizations. For Atherton to say “acting as superpowers” could be potentially true. But to which perspective are you going to look at this morally or economically?

Over the years we have the seen the new emergence of cricket where a young talent appears and takes over the media and the news. Gone are the days of the so called “Gentleman days” and now replaced with the “Sahara”, “Reebok”, “Gray Nichols”. We see more cricketers taking spotlight in advertisements than making any runs on the cricket field. Media and advertising has become the integral part of selling games. In one of the games I saw an ad after every over and that is in average about over 100 ads over a period of a game. Is this a bad thing? Not really but just a transition of business tactics. We see other organizations such as FIBA and American sport organizations such as MLB, NBA and so forth have become conglomerate tycoons in this. They have progressed to become rich organizations and ICC looks like a spec of hair compared to these organizations.

Gone are the Victorian days of the cricket and descended into the Sheik’s pet project land. ICC decision to move from the Mecca of cricket to a place where they play in the kinder garden league of the ICC might become the pinnacle of perhaps the organization’s downfall. This is where the moral issue comes in. In every sport there is a dominant presence in specific areas that attracts the rest of the world. For instance, football=Europe, baseball=Americas. This was how it placed out due to the fact that sport was bona fide in those areas. Even though globalization is taking effect these areas are still the dominant places to play for a professional and for the viewers to watch the sport. Would you rather watch the MLS or the English premiere? But over the years we have seen the ups and downs of English cricket.

It has transitioned from the crown of the jewel to its prince and princess. The sub continent and beyond have taken over the entire market. There are more viewers of cricket around the world than in the Mecca of cricket. But it is not only England. USA lost its hands to get into the market of cricket after they were banned. ICC decision for that is a good one because if you see the West Indies they are in the turmoil and they are limping on a stick to survive. Africa’s political problems allow itself to be very fragile whether progress could occur. What is the best bet for the media and cricket to move on to: Sub Continent and beyond to Australia and NZ.

The sub-continent is starting to flourish as the next economic hub. Ind-Aus rivalry brought more fans than the blunder of the ICC’s Aus-ROW. Therefore if you see from these countries point of view establishing a new league makes a perfect economic portfolio. India and Australia would not only establish more cricket, but also will build other economic transitions. This will include media, trade and more economic integration. Let’s put this into a theoretical experiment.

The combination of Australia and India could bring a lot of prospective for ventures from both sides. In cricket perspective, the Ranji and the Pura could combine and the pay out could be huge. We already have seen players such as Bret Lee who flourished from the MRF academy, imagine on a large scale. This will encourage overseas education. Mostly the fact that the younger population is getting involved in this sport education will be a key form of growth of the person. IT will prosper more and trade could be better. It will be all a spider web of ideas that could work for both countries. This would also enable other countries to join the league. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will also thrive from this where they leagues could flourish as well. Countries such as USA will be keen to enter the market if it involves a larger scale of revenue. Look at football how it has become a growing sport in America. This could also help the growing countries such as Bangladesh and Africa because it could become unified integral cricket dominance where profits would rise. This could as bring the reemergence of countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong back into the cricket world.

Atherton should have not expressed ICC as the UN but rather the League of Nations. We cannot look at this as a moral issue of a cat and mouse deal. It is pure economics. If ICC decided to move from England to Dubai due the tax relief and economic progress, then it should accept this idea and try it. Otherwise I feel ICC will decline and a new organization will be born. We have seen this in smaller effects such as in the American leagues like the NBA. The old ABA and CBA combined to become the NBA but CBA was the dominant before ABA came into the picture. Then CBA went on the downfall.

Cricket will be always cricket. There will be the next Tendulkar, Botham, Richards, Bradman. But the economics of cricket will transition and question will remain whether ICC will be able to integrate itself or dissolve?