Sports blog ...

Looking through my previous blog posts, I realized that I have not written a single sports blog in the past. Not sure why. I may not actively watch sports, but I follow them for sure.

Two tournaments that I am following closely now are the NCAA "March Madness" and World Cup Cricket that is being played in the Indian sub-continent.

This year's NCAA tournament has had some Cinderella stories. Kentucky's upset win over Ohio State last night sure threw my bracket for a toss as did Arizona's win over Duke. Just goes to show that nothing can be "predicted" here.

This year's World Cup Cricket has offered its own twists and turns. Unlike the 2007 tournament, at least the top 8 teams moved to the Quarter Finals this year. Yesterday, we had the surprise win for New Zealand over South Africa - setting up a Sri Lanka vs New Zealand semi-final. I predict that Sri Lanka will easily make it to the finals. The other semi-final of India vs Pakistan is an epic one. It is hard not to bring political implications into this game - it is a "game" after all. However, this is the first match between these two countries after the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai. With the Indian Prime Minister inviting the Pakistan President to watch the match being played in India, this match will have the following of over 250 million people around the world. There are others who study the game and players a lot more closely to make a more qualified prediction. Mine is based on gut, instinct and patriotism :) I predict India winning all the way ...

President Obama's visit to India

You can't turn anywhere these days without seeing another article about President Obama's upcoming visit to India - ranging from

• the amusing to
• are-they-going-overboard-with-this to
• jeez-this-is-costing-the-tax-payer-a-lot

For the uninformed, here is Obama's official itinerary.

Seems to me to be a reversal of roles in that Obama is the one who is seeking help from India. Note that he is traveling with a 250-member team that includes a who's-who of American business. These are heads of corporations whose revenues are higher than the GDP of several countries - including Jeff Immelt (GE), Jim McNerney (Boeing), Indira Nooyi (Pepsi), Terry McGraw (McGraw Hill), and others. Their mission is seek sales orders for everything from aircraft engines, to nuclear reactors, to power plants. The underlying message is, "Do not take our jobs, take our goods." Clearly, they are hoping that the tremendous opportunity for goods and services that India offers will make a dent in US unemployment.

My question is what are they offering in return ...