Sportswatch

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer won the World Sportsman of the Year award due to his sterling performance of 2004 that saw him dominate the ATP circuit. He snatched the award from other deserving candidates that included Michael Shumacer, Lance Armstrong and Hicham El Guerrouj. English runner Kelly Holmes took home the World Sportswoman of the Year award while the Greek Football Team won the World Team of the Year award for their Euro 2004 victory against all odds. The most moving award of the night however was undoubtedly the Spirit of Sport award presented to the Boston Red Sox baseball team for winning the World Series after some eighty-six years. The term 'keeping the faith' was glorified to the maximum and the infamous 'Bambino' curse apparently lifted.

Anyways, on to regulation sports news.
Football is in the midst of its regulation summer holidays and other sports action cricket included have been few and far between this past week. However that in no way means that it has been a dull week.

The West Indies played their first Test in Sri Lanka sans ten of their first choice players and gave a decent account of themselves. Although they did lose the match and by six wickets at that in the end it was impressive to see a bunch of rookies fight tooth and nail against a Sri Lankan attack which comprised Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. Standout performer for the Windies was Jermaine Lawson who grabbed eight wickets in the match. In other cricket news the oldest rivalry in cricket continues into the new millennium as Australia and England clash in the Ashes. Set to kick off just hours after you read this, it looks likely to be a titanic series.

It has been a remarkable week in the football world what with Partick Viera's 14 million pound transfer to Turin and Juventus. The (recently) ex-Arsenal captain, subject of much speculation for most of his nine years at the club finally decided it was time to move on. However, Wenger's ability to mould youth is legendary. Cecs Fabregas and Flamini for all their youth and exuberance will not be able to last an entire season and unless Arsenal sign a replacement it can be fair to say that this could well spell the end of their title hopes for at least this season. That added to Manchester United's continued failure to find the legs in center midfield to replace Keane means that Chelsea yet again look likely to retain a crown they captured last season. Liverpool have solidified the squad with some decent signings and may yet force a challenge although in the words of their own Jamie Carragher they will not win the title this year. At the time of writing Shaun Wright Philips looks set to be on his way to Chelsea for some 21 million pounds further strengthening the glitzy London team.

Well that is about it for today.
Till next time!
If you have any opposing or contrasting opinions to the ones that have been expressed here (football or otherwise) feel free to mail me at: (zulquarnain.islam@gmail.com) You can also request sports-star reviews and I will get to them ASAP. So keep those mails coming.

By Quazi Zulquarnian Islam

Boss the word itself is synonymous to a raging dragon breathing fire down your neck, ready to make roasted chicken out of you, given the slightest opportunity. Some lucky people are blessed with a sweet, soft spoken employer while the rest of us evidently didn't say our prayers often. While many of you don't have to worry about this right now, it won't be long before you too will have to face the reality. So be afraid. Be very afraid. For the time being, we are proud to introduce you to 'celebrity' bosses - those that have made the headlines more often than others with murders, armed assaults and the like. Our list is based on how well-known each person is as a boss and how much success that person has as an employer so don't be surprised if you find a variety of figures in the same list.

Da Big Boss/ DBB: Tigress of Rising, DBB, our boss here at RS is quite (in)famous around town, thanks to the relentless efforts of the hardworking team under her charge. Her legendary temper over missed deadlines is well known but if you are a hard worker and write voluminous amounts each week, you can easily win her appreciation. Her screaming during meetings rarely fails to get the rusty brains working albeit after much effort. Very soon it's the entire RS team on one side of the table and DBB on the other, with the trademark threat of cross-firing...DBB style. Before I lose my job (which is bound to happen anytime soon) we have to admit, that we, the loyal, diligent worker-ants at the RS would rather have nobody else as our boss.*thousand watt smile*

HRH Queen Elizabeth, of the Royal variety: The Queen employs a large number of people to dress, feed, wash and pamper the royal family and thereby ensure the smooth running of the monarchy. From maids, pages, footmen, gardeners to the inevitable grey-suits, Buckingham Palace has it all to keep it in its state of morbid grandeur and efficiency. Paul Burrell, who served as the Queen's personal footman for ten years, in his book A Royal Duty claims that her majesty is an amiable and tolerant employer who understands the pain and isolation her staff go through daily. Working in Buckingham Palace means being devoid of entertainment and the Queen recognizes this sacrifice, a stark contrast to the next ruler in line. She also throws a yearly ball where she receives her staff and their families. When asked how many servants she actually has, HRH replied that she had not a single servant but many members of staff. Now, that's some boss!

Britney Spears: She did it again Britney Spears' efforts to go into the restaurant business must have been doomed from the start, in fact, probably from the minute the idea was conceived in her head. A string of celebrities, including her rival Jennifer Lopez, stayed away from the launch party itself. Shortly after its sluggish opening, three children were taken ill with food poisoning. A 24-year-old man needed hospital treatment after being stabbed on the doorstep of the restaurant. Plus, the restaurant met with poor response. That being the last straw, Britney Spears in a smarter decision than expected pulled out of her critically-panned New York restaurant venture, claiming it has been "mismanaged". The restaurant Nyla at the Dylan Hotel - named partly after New York and partly after Spears' home state of Louisiana - served Southern cuisine. She had not earned a dime or benefits from it. In a statement she said: "I wish the restaurant and its current ownership continued success." So much for her boss-giri!

Donald Trump: Money sure is funny in a rich man's world. Donald Trump is a man who has lived the American dream. The graduate from Wharton School of Finance started out small with his father in Brooklyn, New York. His father once said, 'everything he seems to touch turns to gold.' Trump may as well call himself the god of all real estate deals. In New York alone he is the owner of countless prestigious addresses Trump Tower, Trump Park, Trump Palace, Trump Plaza, Trump Park Avenue amongst others some of the world's most expensive properties. Of course he also owns a list of other businesses but there is too little room to mention them all here. Interestingly Trump and NBC are partners in the ownership of the three largest beauty competitions in the world Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA. He's written several best-selling books about his life and the one thing he does best: getting rich.

In 2004 Donald Trump and NBC joined forces to take reality T.V. to the next level. Trump is an executive producer and host of the hit reality show 'The Apprentice' which made ratings history, keeping in tradition with all Trump projects. The show gave him celebrity status amongst people like me, the less informed. He is well known to send contestants off in tears and belittling his colleagues on the show. However, it is obvious that Donald Trump recognizes and appreciates hard work and true talent. It isn't often that you can contradict his criticism and when he makes a statement, you know that he is probably right. Apart from his hair and cold appearance and his patented hand gestures his favorite line is often misunderstood to be the dramatic words: 'You're FIRED.'

By Shoaib Alam

The subtleties of the board

X-Men, Pokemon and Dhaka. Yup nothing could be more similar, if we talk about evolution. From Eastern Plaza to Bushondhara City, Video Connection to DVD and Babyscooters to underground "racing", we have come a long way. But now what's the next step? Let me give you a clue: Its green and red, big and thin, flat and square-. ....TADAAA.... It's the Grameen Phone AD!!!

Dhaka has transformed from the city of the 100 mosques to the city of the billion billboards. Like post-modern mushrooms, billboards seem to thrive everywhere -- bearing upon us from the top of almost every building, besides every street, in every wall, showing us gleefully ads after ads specially telecom ads. "Billboard-ing" has grown so big that the time has come to fulfill our national identity and start criticizing it........

For example, entering Uttara you will see my all-time favorite, the BRAC Bank Ad; precariously perched on a single pillar in the middle of the busy highway, displaying our smiling coach, lying down in a peculiar position, which despoils all his greatness, with the downright hilariously stupid slogan beside him:

"WHAT MORE?"!! Get it, Dav "What"-more!! It's funny alright, in a retarded kinda way...but damn catchy!

As you travel towards Dhaka, standing like monoliths along the way are dozens of 'small' Grameen phone ads. These billboards show you pictures of mountains, hidden forests, hills, rivers, sunsets and they keep on showing these natural beauties -- until you begin to wonder what exactly do all these stuff have to do with mobile phones anyway?

Then as we come toward Bishwa Road, the 'three big ones' gape at you from across the toxic lake -- STAN CHART, AKTEL and the horribly orange-ish colored "KOTHIN BHABER" DJUICE AD. At least they didn't put the picture of the hairy dude who used to do their TV commercials unlike in AKTEL's "SCIENTIST" AD, which shows a picture of what I think is either a scientists, a cool scientist, a kid with a hair style problem, someone who has a year's supply of Hair Gel or some combination of all of these....

But perhaps the weirdest billboard AD of all would be the pitiful attempt by City Cell titled "GEN YO" -- targeted at all the "YO" people. The name perhaps says it all. If it doesn't, then their slogan certainly does:

"It's your life; lead the Yo way..."
Now what is the ultimate meaning of this craze over billboards? It's actually a good one. All major cities have a spawning population of billboards. The growth of billboards heralds us into the age of dense commercialism, which is a good indication of development. Furthermore consider the AD Companies, putting up all these billboards for your viewing pleasure -- what a business they are having!

And finally how can we forget the other nobilities of the Billboard. Only because of billboards millions of our money are leaving the country for bank accounts in Turkey and USA. After all without billboards how would the big guys sell all their stuff to the little guys who can hardly read...

By Golam Rezwan Khan