FO finals, Yuvraj Dropped, Sachin Rested, Arsenal Sign Dutch youngster, Benitez at Inter

After signing Marouanne the Morroccan, Wenger signed this Dutch under-16 youngster Kyle Ebecilio. He is apparently a powerful midfield player, in the Michael Essien mold. I know most Arsenal fans are not too happy about this signing, but I for one, am very much behind Wenger on this. Signing experienced players does not mean we should stop signing youngsters. Wenger has already come out and said that he wants to beef up the defence. (http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-i-ll-spend-the-right-money-on-my-defence-). So relax, you gunners. In Arsene we trust. Meanwhile, Senderos has signed for Fulham. I am not sure about the transfer fee. I wish that we get Hangelaand and pay them some extra money to round of the Senderos deal.

Elsewere, Nani has been ruled out of the world cup and Rafa Benitez has agreed a deal with Inter.

French open mens final was an anti-climax. Nadal got his revenge from last year. This was one match I was so looking forward to and I felt it got over before it started. On the womens side, Schiavonne became the first Italian to win the FO. Good omens for the Azurri?? Paes-Dloghy lost in the final to some unknown pair. All these years, Paes seems to be another one of those unsung heroes. He has consistently reached the final of so many grand slams and won a lot of them too. He was the winner last year (pairing with Dloghy again) and won in '99 and '01 with Bhupati. He also came to the final in '05 in mixed doubles. And all this, I am talking only French open.

In Harare, Brendon Taylot steered Zimbabwe to yet another victory. What a tournament for them. They have a great chance to win this series and start ressurecting their status in int'l cricket again. They have been a major downward slide ever since the likes of A Flower Brothers, Streak, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin, Andy Blignaut left the side due to Political unrest in Zimbabwe. Go ZIM!

Kiran More has said that dropping Uvraj was a 'mistake'. I have mixed feelings about it. I think this will be a temporary thing and Yuvraj will be back in the next series. But, dropping him now was, again the correct decision. He has not been fit, he has not been in form, he does not really look to be mentally up there. So, let him go back, do the basics and come back fitter and better.

People have alleged Sachin of placing country ahead of personal interests saying he should rest for IPL and play in the Asia cup. I think Sachin has made the correct decision. Asia cup is just one of many series' that India plays. IPL, on the other hand, is one of its kind. It is a new concept, and something which Sachin (or any other player) has not had a taste of. Besides, this is the time India need to start building for the WC'11. So, it empties one slot for Gary Kirsten to try different players/combinations. It is important that Sachin stays fit for the WC, especially looking at the frailties in the Indian batting line-up.

By the by.......I went to this mall in NY last week and wnated to share these pictures.......