www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

If the 2010 World Cup were to be like these, how would they work out? There are five teams that could win this World Cup and they will all still be here - Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and England. Top players to watch in this World Cup - Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Wayne Rooney. Quarter-Finals - Netherlands v Brazil, France v England, Argentina v Germany, Italy v Spain. Netherlands v Brazil Rinus Michels was the man responsible for "totaalvoetbal' or total football made famous by the Flying Dutchman of the Johan Cruyff led 1974 World Cup. They were said to be the strongest team ever not to win it together with the Mighty Magyars of Ference Puskas led Hungary in 1954. Their greatest moment was when they won the European crown in 1988 with stars like Marco van Basten (to me one of the greatest strikers ever), Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. In 1974, the Dutch led only after two minutes when Neeskens converted a penalty. Before that, not a singl...

What Wedge? Wedges are specialized clubs for the short game and also used from sand bunkers. We are not talking about those that came in a set but one which you would have to acquire as an addition as a sharper tool and as a replacement. When it comes to wedges, two names springs to mind always - Titleist Vokey spin-milled by Bob Vokey or Cleveland (formerly by Roger Cleveland). The Vokey is for better players while Cleveland is often said to be for everyone their latest being the CG15. (See previous article in the link). Roger Cleveland is no chief designer at Callaway so you can see Callaway wedges getting a say in the market place. Mizuno, Nike and TaylorMade too are making inroads. http://gforce-guru.blogspot.com/2009/07/wedges-your-magic-wand.html The last time I nearly wanted a Vokey but was discouraged as I found from reports and advice that they are so sharp in creating spin that it cuts the ball just after several shots. Not that I needed more wedges (I already...

I was more of a badminton player than a squash player and never a tennis player. I could play a mean game of badminton heavily influenced during the time of legends like Rudy Hartono and Svend Pri. Squash was like unheard of until a friend who plays it quite frequently at Poly introduced it. I found that I love the game. It is pulsating and physically intimidating to say the least. I particularly love hitting on the side wall with gusto and feeling and seeing the ball ricochets away like a pinball can be quite fun. This shot is called a "Boast".  The only thing I dislike is that in a non air-conditioned squash court, the heat is too intense within the court. I found myself asking why it is called Squash and not Squeezed as you get squeezed within the confines of the walls. Squeezed oranges become orange squash and at the end of an hour or two after playing several sets with different opponents, you do really feel like a squeezed orange but it was good even if you look ...

From time to time I would be asked this question and a reader just asked: "Why are there no Black swimmers or gymnasts in the Olympics?" It seems a very valid question if you look back and it seems true but if you look deeper enough that in itself should not be a question because our human nature has this tendency to see things in definition of absoluteness - white, black, brown, yellow, etc. or by borders of East or West. We could argue that Mr. Barack Obama is President and we should not say that President Obama is a black President but that does not change anything or take anything away. So this question does have an interesting angle to it. Athletics You can talk about running, jumping, singing, dancing, boxing, etc. and these are just a few areas that blacks excel in. You can also ask why are Jamaicans so good at sprinting? According to some reports, West Africans seem to have higher numbers of muscles responsible for short, explosive burst of action than do whi...

Why do different countries drive on different sides of the road and have cars with either left hand rive or right hand drive? Since China has 5,000 years of history perhaps it all started from there? No? The Chinese Bureaucracy Book of Rites mentioned "the right side of the road for men, the left for women and the centre for carriages" more for protocol. Romans were said to have driven on the left. They used to transport stones to build Roman Temples and carts went in the quarry empty but came out laden and that casued one side of the road to be sunken and so it was determined they drove on the left. By the Middle Ages, they use the English system of keeping to the left just in case you meet bad strangers so that you could draw your sword at them when they past on your right. Some argued that the Pope of olden days ordered pilgrims to keep to one side of the road when entering Rome as a sort of traffic control. American and French farmers hauled their farm pro...

My beloved Newcastle will be back in the top flight after just one season in the Coca-Cola Championship with five games to spare and now with nine points clear and three games to go they look like they will be Champions which is a very nice surprise considering Chris Hughton was the manager who have only served for some time as an assistant. I am sure many like me fell in love with the Magpies when Kevin Keegan brought them back to the Premier League playing swashbuckling soccer. The passion of the Toon Army surely played a part and it is good to be able to see the majestic sea horses on the crest of their emblem on their black and white strip on Premier League pitches again soon. I mean who else has thrashed Manchester United 5-0? Newcastle was every neutral's favourite club, everybody's second favourite team. Portsmouth, already relegated helped rekindle the passion of the F. A. Cup when they shot down Tottenham Hotspurs 2-0 after extra-time. Who would have thought that...

The Ball The most important thing at the 19th World Cup soccer tournament held for the first time on African soil is the ball. At every World Cup held once every four year, a new ball is usually unveil and players would fret about them especially the goalkeepers because although the ball will be within specification, some slight changes in characteristics like feel, weight, bounce and even the wicked swerve imparted from side spin can cause anguish and pain to one party and delight and joy for another. Scientists have been develping the 2010 World Cup ball since the end of the last one in 2006. They envisioned a ball that does not absorb energy, that has accuracy in flight, that applied all of the kicking force applied to the ball, has soft feel, is safe for the head - in short the optimum soccer ball but it must adhere to strict specification of the USGA. Er no, I mean FI FA. Hey, I wasn't talking about a golf ball. The name of the FIFA World Cup 2010 soccer ball is named...