Posts by Richard Llewellyn
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How many break points did he not convert?
He only converted 6 from 19, apparently, which is fairly poor by his remarkable standards.
A couple of things about Nadal. One is that he seems to be able to get inside Federer's head - he is so mentally strong that it becomes intimidating, and Federer makes mistakes at crucial times that one wouldn't imagine coming against Roddick or others.
The other is, as Nadal's mate Verdasco said, is that his ability to retrieve shots is such that means that opposing players feel like they have to win the same point 2 or 3 times against him. I'm guessing that gets a bit tiring after awhile :)
It will only become a 'rivalry for the ages' if the Fed can start winning some of these games - at the moment its becoming a pretty lopsided record. What price Nadal to beat Sampras record?
Re the cricket. Gotta love the Aussie commentators. Just to cheer myself up I watched the rugby league world cup final again in the weekend, just to hear Phil Gould et al announce periodically that the kiwis were 'shot', 'out on their feet', 'hanging on by a thread', 'playing negatively' etc. Love it.
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Cormac McCarthy's The Road superb, taut, and at once utterly despairing and strangely moving. And you can just tell that like No Country for Old Men it's got the potential to be a winner of a film. He practically writes the script for it right here.
On its way to a cinema near you I believe, with Viggo as the Man, with John 'The Proposition' Hillcoat at the helm, and with the Aussie outback likely to feature at some pont as the post-apocalyptic wasteland. Like you Matthew, I also thought it was a fabulous and moving book.
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He was incredible. The best mainstage performance ever at a Big Day Out, IMHO.
He encored with a version of the Beatles' 'Day in the Life' that was so artistically valid there are barely words for it.
Can't disagree. After decades in the business he still exudes sheer musical intent and integrity. When one thinks of the songs he didn't play the enormity of his career becomes apparent. And the man sure knows his way around a guitar!! a blistering set.
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He was incredible. The best mainstage performance ever at a Big Day Out, IMHO.
He encored with a version of the Beatles' 'Day in the Life' that was so artistically valid there are barely words for it.
Can't disagree. After decades in the business he still exudes sheer musical intent and integrity. When one thinks of the songs he didn't play the enormity of his career becomes apparent. And the man sure knows his way around a guitar!! a blistering set.
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My fave cricket related (tenuously) song?
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I didn't know John Drake, I don't remember him as a player, in fact, I probably couldn't have picked him out of a line up. But I did know his voice
Actually, I feel kind of terrible about John Drake, who in our household was more routinely known as 'Cyclops' Drake for his very subtle form of provincial parochialism, at its most pronounced when Auckland was playing Wellington in, well anything. Now I feel bad because 49 is just too young.
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Giovanni, next time I'm in town visiting ma and big bro I just might take you up on that kind offer. If only we can agree that Falcao was the absolute cats pyjamas.
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I watched the game again recently, and was struck by how much better than Brazil we played
I'd quite like to see the game again actually, maybe my memory is more nostalgic than it should be.
Certainly, while that Brazilian team had a fantastic attack (apart from Sergio) they did have a poor defence and the traditionally sausage-fingered goalkeeper. By my recollection both the Brazilian goals were sublime, and at least one if not two of the Rossi goals were directly as a result of defensive error. But I probably wouldn't be surprised to see upon a second view (26 years later) that Italy had the lions share of possession and territory.
I guess I don't want to venture too far into the 'by definition the best team in any tournament is the team that wins' because (clearly in the case of last years RWC) I simply don't believe that such a maxim is always true. Upsets of favourites are the thing that makes sport so compelling.
But happy to concede that Italy '82 were a great team, who are all too commonly underrated by the football purists who deify that Brazilian team :)
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I've spoken to people who still think Brazil was entitled to win that tournament.
Heh - Giovanni I'm one of those footballing tragics. And with all due deference to a fine Italian team who obviously had brought their own script to that game, there was something of the romantic tragedy in having such an outrageously (I can still see some of the stuff Falcao did) gifted Brazilian team having those gifts undone by the more pragmatic and prosaic approach of a fine Italian team who recognised that football is not just about looking purty. While the Brazil = All Blacks analogy works to a certain extent, I've never thought of the AB approach as being anything less than ruthless.
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maverick