Flying Car- When Will It Be Available

Days are not very far when cars will fly over our head! The world's first flying car, which was caught in a legal snarl in the US, has finally been given the green signal. Being developed by Boston-based Terrafugia Transition since 2006, the dual-purpose car-cum-plane vehicle called 'the flying car' has got the waiver on its weight from the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).Under FAA rules, the flying car -- categorised as a 'light sport' aircraft -- was required to be strictly under 1,320 pounds in weight. But with the addition of car safety features such as airbags, crumple zones and a safety cage, the vehicle overshot the weight-limit. With the FAA now relaxing the rules for its weight, the decks have been cleared for the flying car - a two-seater named Transition - to take-off next year.
Our schedule calls for the first delivery to be made prior to the end of 2011. We currently have in excess of 70 orders, which is about a two-year backlog,' Richard Gersh, vice president for Terrafugia, told IANS. Asked whether it was big corporates or individuals who have placed orders, Gersh said, 'They are generally pilots who either own planes or have owned planes in the past.' About about their plans to raise production, he said: 'Low volume production will take place in the Boston area. No decisions have been made for other production plans.'Costing about $200,000, the flying car will travel up to 725 km in the air at a speed of more than 115 km per hour. Fuelled by gasoline, it will have front-wheel drive on the road and a propeller for flight. With its wings folded, it can be parked in an ordinary car garage. The company claims the flying car has been successfully test-flown many times. It says tests have shown that the vehicle can drive, fly and switch from being a plane to a car in just 30 seconds.

Fascinating, isn't it!

World Cup Football Makes Cricket in India a Backbencher

Like what it does every four years, world cup soccer 2010 has created a sensation in India also and it has managed to push cricket(Asia Cup- Sri Lanka) in the backseat.
Watching two sets of eleven men competing with each other while chasing a rotund ball with the sole aim of creating space and time to score a goal, enthralls the world as no other sport does. The audiences keep growing as the on-going World Cup viewership suggests and even in a country like India, whose obsession with cricket is well documented, soccer mania grips it once every four years. This is the time when cricket takes a backseat and all that matters -for not just the well-bred and well-heeled, but also those on the margins - is to get glued to TV sets. We all soak in a spectacle, which combines fluid, feline movements with aggression and speed that weave magical patterns on the field to leave us spellbound. If you still care to surf channels while The Game is on, you will find familiar figures on your screens contesting a sport involving bat and ball in which one team is trying to score runs and the other trying its best to prevent that from happening. In contrast to football, this is a much more complex activity to understand, as the skills required for playing and the rules governing them are not easy to comprehend, unless the watcher has been formally trained to do so. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why football is and will continue to grow in popularity and cricket will remain a game played by a minuscule number. It is far easy to get mesmerised by Leo Messi's dexterity and control, his nimble movements, understanding of spaces and his selfless play which makes him part with the ball at the right time so that his team benefits from his delectable skills. It is not difficult to admire the ball skills of a Robinho but also realise that he hangs on to the ball for too long, depriving his team of those precious seconds which turn an opportunity into a waste. In contrast, you cannot enjoy cricket unless you figure out the numerous ways in which the ball deviates in the air, off the wicket, the various speeds at which it is bowled and the varied responses of the batsman in an effort to not only safeguard his wicket but also hit the ball in various directions.
Football is a game which may intimidate you at first with the sheer physicality involved, but once the match begins the same big, strong and "brutal" men, in reality don't always kick the ball. It is a 90-minute courtship in which they cajole the ball, caress it, entreat it and plead with it in an effort to direct its movements towards the goal.That is possibly why a Maradona will remain a figure to idolise for the world and a Sachin Tendulkar for a few.

The Phenomenal Success of InterMilan in 2010

2010 is the year of astonishing success of Italian Football Club InterMilan. This year they had won three titles:
*Italian Cup
*Serie A Championship
*UFEA Champion's League
Last year also, they had won the Serie A Championship Title

What are the reasons behind their success:

* A group of talented and experienced players like Lucio, Mycon, Samuel, Snijders, Milito and Eto.
* Not relying on any spectacular or flashy tactics but a disciplined and calculative approach.
* Jose Mourinho- not only one of the best coach of all time but also a great tactician and reader of the game of football

Really it was an amazing success story!

Jose Mourinho- What a Coach He is, Mourinho- a Class of His Own

Jose Mourinho had really silenced his critics. Under his coaching, Inter Milan has won the Champion's League Title, Serie A title and Italian Cup in 2010. It was a spectacular success story. There was no superstars in his team. He banked on team game and a very disciplined as well as organized approach. Earlier in 2004, Porto F.C. had won the Champion's League Title. He is one of the very few coaches who had won the Champion's League Title for two different sides. And F.C. Porto was not a star-studded side too. This time there was Samuel Eto, Diego Milito , Lucio Snijder and Mycon in his team but according to many fans and critics, Mourinho was the real star! After completing his task in Milan, he moved on to Real Madrid to achieve a new target. One man who can brought some trophy to Madrid's star-studded yet under performing team... he is none other than Mourinho!

Rafael Nadal is Back With a Vengeance, Rafael Nadal-The King of Clay Court

Rafael Nadal, the king of clay court is back and he is back with a vengeance. Nadal was a top class clay court player who was starting to establishing his supremacy in grass also. After winning Wimboldon in 2008 and Australian Open in 2009 by defeating all time grass court artist Roger Federer in two all time great epic matches, Nadal had become the no. 1 by dethroning the great Roger Federer. But soon after came the knee injury which made him go slow. He lost to Soderling in French Open in 2009 after that had to stay off the court because of injury. It posted a question mark over his Carrier. But in 2010 , he won back to back three clay court masters in Madrid, Rome and Monte Carlo. Most importantly he reclaimed his lost French Open by defeating the same Soderling in the final and almost completed a full circle. It is interesting to see whether he can get back the Wimboldon Title as well!

Indian Premier League(IPL)- How Much It Is Responsible For The Debacle of Team India in Twenty-20 World Cup

This is the picture of Indian Cricket Team winning the Twenty-20 World Cup in 2007 in South Africa. Will this sort of picture ever be seen in future? We have our doubts.

Cause of doubts:

Indian cricket team has failed miserably in 2009 and 2010 twenty-20 world cups in England and West Indies respectively. Both times, the team made shameful exit without winning a single matches in super eight stage. As a matter of fact, they have lost six matches consecutively. And both times one big common factor stands out-IPL just before the World Cup.

How much IPL is to be blamed:

> IPL is a long tournament spreading more than a month and consists of more than 50 matches.

> Rest between the matches are few and intensity and crowd expectation is high.

> As it is played over a big country, players have to travel a lot.

> There are after match parties and celebration. Young players can be easily distracted by bucks, booze and blondes. And as the younger players are mostly from India, they are the worst sufferers. Most foreign players are seniors and established.

> Some key players are injued like Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir.

> As players are getting big and easy money, they are not motivated enough to do well for thier country.

Well, there are all speculations and there are other views as well.

> Man of the Series in Twenty-20 2010 Kevin Peterson and The Winning Captain of English Cricket Team Paul Collinwood- both of them said that they were benefited from IPL.

From next year, there will more matches in IPL(~ 90) as two more teams have been included. What will be the future of Indian Cricket?

Viswanathn Anand- Is He The Greatest Sports Person in India

Viswanathan Anand has won the World Championship in Chess in Sophia by beating Vaselin Topalov of Bulgeria. He had won this prestigious title for the fourth time in his Carrier apart from winning six Oscars in chess also. In fact, he had won the world championship for the last three times in a row. In a country like India where cricket is not only a sports but also a religion, sports persons( even though they are world champions) belong to other sports do not get the spotlight like the cricketers do. Therefore a Viswanathan Anand or a Saina Nehawal never get their deserved credit. If we consider the achievements, Viswanathan Anand is a long way ahead than the others. The only one who comes in near comparison is none other than Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin needs no introduction. He has scored over 30000 runs and ninety centuries in international cricket. Besides he is the holder of several world records. The only feather which is lacking in his cap in a World Cup Title in any format of cricket. Incidentally they have many things in common:
* Both of them had won the Rajib Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
* Both of them are role models by their performance and attitude on and off their respective field
* Both of them had made their country proud!