Ozwitch

A greentop in India???

Nah. It's too good to be true.

Indian administrator Shashank Manohar says his pitch will be 'tailor-made for the fast bowlers.'

But we've heard that one before. Juicy green tearaway strips where the ball rockets off the pitch, zooms past the batsman's nose and eludes the leaping keeper on its way to the boundary. Two days before the Test match, everyone including journalists are licking their chops and Gillespie and McGrath are trembling in anticipation.

Come the morning of the match - they arrive to see a brown shaved concrete desert and Harbhajan is laughing.

This IS India.

Also, I have to barrack for the Red Sox. Anybody who hasn't won a pennant since 1918 needs all the help they can get. Man, that's a long time to wait.

Who to Barrack For?

Today is AFL Grand Final day in Melbourne (Australian Football League.)

The Herald Sun ran an article this morning entitled: "Who should you Barrack For?"

(Americans please replace 'barrack' with 'root' and it'll make sense.)

The situation is unique as it is the first time that two non-Melbourne teams have contested the AFL Grand Final. So Melburnians are apparently scratching their heads. It's being seen as a litmus test of whether the League is truly national after so many years of trying.

It got me thinking about the whole concept of barracking - why do you barrack for a particular thing? Is there logic involved? Is it purely sentiment? Do you like your team's uniform better? What happens when you abruptly change sides during a match, as can happen? Should you hang your head?