Warnie coming back??

Indian tour sparks Warne's comeback speculation

Sep 13 (IANS) With the forthcoming Indian tour exposing Australia's inexperience in the spin department, speculation of Shane Warne's potential comeback before next year's Ashes has once again gained momentum with the spin-wizard himself not completely ruling out the possibility of his return to the side.

'In my life I've learnt never to say never,' Warne, who would turn 40 by next year's Ashes, was Saturday quoted as saying in the Courier Mail.

'But at the moment I'm very happily retired and I'm very happy with my life.'

Retired Warne might be happy with his business life and playing professional snooker but the selection of uncapped spinners Bryce McGain and Jason Krejza for the four-match Test series in India next month has once again exposed the void of an experienced spinner in the Australian side.

After leading Rajasthan Royals to winning the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL), Warne had hinted at the possibility of a sensational comeback for the Ashes next year if his team asks for his presence.

'If Australia really needed me and there was no one else around and ricky thought I could do the job, you would weigh up the options. If I wanted to keep playing I don't think there is an issue with me being the No 1 spinner and performing,' Warne had said in May after the Rajasthan Royals won the IPL title.

Symonds mulls quitting cricket

Andrew Symonds sent home....

Andrew Symonds sent home....

All rounder Andrew Symonds had been sent home from the Australian one-day team to meet Bangladesh in Darwin, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Saturday.

Symonds was sent home following a recommendation by the team leadership group late on Friday, CA said in a statement.

It did not give a reason for his departure but said it would discuss the issue at the post-game press conference following the first one-day international on Saturday.

Symonds has been in trouble with team management in the past over his behaviour.

He was left out of the team for a one-day match against Bangladesh during Australia's tour of England 2005 after arriving for the game under the influence of alcohol.

Australia are due to play Bangladesh in three one-day internationals, all in Darwin, including further matches next Wednesday and on Sept. 6.

The Reason:

Symonds, who is miffed at being sent home by the Cricket Australia for going on a 'fishing trip' instead of attending a compulsory team meeting last week.
As concerns are raised over his commitment towards the national team, disillusioned Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds unsure if he would tour India for a four-Test series next month and is mulling retirement from international cricket.

Nielsen prepares for India tour sans Symonds...

Unsure of Andrew Symonds' return to the side, Australia coach Tim Nielsen is working on a plan to deal with the feisty all-rounder's absence in the forthcoming India tour.

After Symonds was sent home for missing a compulsory team meeting, preferring a fishing trip instead, Nielsen said he could not assume that the all-rounder would be part of the squad in India.

"The only thing we can bank on is providing as much support as we possibly can for him (Symonds) to make the right decision for him and for us, to come back into the group 100 per cent committed,' he said adding "how long is a piece of string?".

"I don't know if Roy (Symonds) would understand or know how long it's going to take. I certainly don't," Nielsen added.

Terminate on Sight : G- unit!! Genre: Hip Hop!!!

G-unit: 50 Cent · Lloyd Banks · Tony Yayo The Game · Young Buck

Albums: Beg for Mercy , T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight)

Singles: "Stunt 101" · "Poppin' Them Thangs" · "My Buddy" · "Wanna Get to Know You" · "Smile" · "I Like the Way She Do It" · "Rider Pt.2" · "Close to Me"

T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight) is the second studio album from the rap group G-Unit. The title of the album was originally announced to be Shoot to Kill and then Lock & Load, with the eventual name being Terminate on Sight. The album was originally scheduled to be released on June 24, 2008, but was re-scheduled to July 1

The album debuted at No.4 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 102,000 for the first week

50 Cent spoke about the process that the album had to go through before it could be released. He said

"We gotta work with Em, that's it. Then we can be done with it. Production-wise, I captured what I needed. But I didn't want to not have Em's stamp on it. Before my work [goes to the public, it has to pass the Eminem test, the Dr. Dre test — it's a few tests before we push them to the street. That's why they can expect a higher quality of music than from the usual artist"

In another interview with MTV, 50 Cent spoke about the album. He said:

It's like a spinoff — the sequel to Beg for Mercy. It was a statement towards the competition, towards other artists. Terminate on Sight is the version where you get more aggressive. This record embodies that. I kinda know where I need to go, because I tested the waters with the material I put out. I get to tell with the response to certain records where I need to be and chill out from other stuff.

In an interview Lloyd Banks talked about the album calling it "aggressive" and a "good album for the time in hip-hop".

In an interview, Tony Yayo spoke about a track featuring Eminem, which is produced by Dr. Dre. He said:
"The track with Em is raw. Him And Fif are gonna kill someone's career with that, but I'll keep that to myself right now. I don't think ya'll gonna be ready for this track. I think it might push this nigga to kill himself when he hears this."

However there was no song with Eminem on the album.

Production
Tony Yayo stated that the Timbaland and Swizz Beatz tracks are his "favourites", quoting them as "the standout tracks". Tony Yayo has also confirmed that Ron Browz has produced for the album.In an interview with HipHopGame, G-Unit also stated that production was provided by some relatively new producers

Track listing
1)"Straight Outta Southside" – 2:36
2)"Piano Man" (featuring Young Buck) – 3:21
3)"Close to Me" – 4:18
4)"Rider Pt. 2" (featuring Young Buck) – 2:48
5)"Casualties of War" – 3:19
6)"You So Tough" – 3:46
7)"No Days Off" – 3:54
8)"T.O.S. (Terminate on Sight)" – 4:11
9)"I Like the Way She Do It" (featuring Young Buck) – 3:52
10)"Kitty Kat" – 3:48 Guitar by Daniel Groover
11)"Party Ain't Over" (featuring Young Buck) – 3:30
12)"Let It Go" (featuring Mavado) – 3:06
13)"Get Down" – 3:47
14)"I Don't Wanna Talk About It" – 4:34
15)"Ready or Not" – 3:38
16)"Money Makes the World Go Round" – 4:14
17)"Chase Da Cat" (Bonus track) - 3:43

From start to finish this album offers energy, aggression, tough talk, and a bravado that only a member of G-Unit could embody. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who can hear this album and not find at least 5 songs that they like. This album is definitely a keeper

Amy gets violent .....

Amy Winehouse has been accused of calling a man a "w****r" and hitting him in the face.

The 'Rehab' singer was drinking in the Dublin Castle pub in Camden, London, when she allegedly struck out at Wayne Lindsay in an unprovoked attack. Wayne was standing behind Amy when she suddenly spun round, screamed at him and hit him for no apparent reason. He said: "She was in front of me at the bar and suddenly turned and smacked me three times across the face. It really stung. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't said a word to her or touched her." Although Wayne maintains there was no reason for Amy to become aggressive, he says she seemed very angry with him. He said: "She was wild. She just flipped. It was as if she had voices in her head." Security guards stepped in help but quickly realised Wayne was not at fault. Amy stormed out of the pub shortly afterwards. Wayne added to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "I was really angry she thought she could get away with it. But I let it go. Amy was in no fit state to put up a fight. She looked out of it. It was as if she was in another land." Hours later, Amy allegedly hit a fan who she claimed pinched her bottom. Just a few weeks ago, she also lashed out during her performance at the Glastonbury music festival after mistakenly believing a fan had tried to touch her trademark beehive hair style.

Not just affected the McGrath family.....

The death of Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath's wife, Jane, is acquiring the proportion of a national tragedy here with country's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offering his condolences and a public memorial planned at the church.
The 42-year-old Jane passed away after a prolonged battle with breast cancer and the tragedy has not just affected the McGrath family.

Jane died peacefully with her husband and their children by her side after her health had deteriorated in the past week following surgery in March.
The Sydney church, where the couple solemonised their wedding, had organised a public memorial for Jane.
After McGrath's former teammates paid their homage to Jane, Rudd and Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson also offered tributes for the deceased, describing her as an "inspiration" who we would "like to be".

"It's with great sadness that the nation reflects on the passing of Jane McGrath," Rudd said in the country's parliament.Rudd said Jane would serve as an inspiration for those battling cancer.
"Jane McGrath was, and will remain a source of inspiration and hope to all Australians, in particular to those personally affected by cancer," Rudd was quoted as saying by 'The Daily Telegraph'.
"She will be remembered with great fondness for her work to help women and their families and that work will continue," he added.
Nelson, meanwhile, said Jane' death was a national loss.
"Occasionally this nation loses somebody in whom we see something of the kind of people we would like to be," Nelson told the parliament.
Rudd said the government would continue to support the McGrath Foundation -- co-instituted by Jane and Glenn -- in its endeavour to support breast cancer patients.
Jane was the godmother of Glenn's ex-teammate Matthew Hayden's son and the Australian opener said he and his wife Kelly were "in a world of hurt right now."
"Jane was very special, as is Glenn to the Hayden family. She was godmother to Thomas (the Haydens' son) and special friends to Kell," he said.
Former Australian skipper Steve Waugh also praised Jane's "amazing resilience".
"Glenn's taken her examples about being strong and getting on with life no matter what your situation is and she always told him to get out on the field and play cricket no matter how crook she was," he said.

"All of us who met her were charmed by her dignity and good humour as she tackled her battle with her illness for more than 10 years," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland.

Famous Sports Superstitions

In addition to rigorous training and natural talent, top athletes have often credited their success to following pet rituals or superstitions. Some of the most notable:

• Roger Federer: Locks himself in a bathroom the day before each match and screams at himself for hours!!


• Tiger Woods: Carefully wakes up, arrives at the course on time. He wears a red shirt on the last day of events he plays because he thinks it brings him good luck.
  
• Anna Kournikova: Angelica Gavaldon warmed up with Anna Kournikova in Sydney one year and she won her match. After that she wanted Angelica Gavaldon to warm up again with her because she thought it brought her good luck.


• Anna Ivanovic: Ivanovic is a player who keeps her rituals during a tournament, one of which is bouncing the ball four times before she serves.


• Shawn Green: For reasons no one can understand, before every Friday night game, Green breaks bread and drinks a sip of wine while chanting in gibberish
  
• Rafael Nadal: He has to have 2 Bottles of water, with one them being chilled and the other containing normal water. After every game he lines up the bottles with their lables facing the baseline he plays from. His socks has to be short, no longer than 15cm up his shins and must be of the same height. The sponsor's logo must be parallel to the ground. Rafa ensures that headband is pulled out of his kitbag an hour before any match begins, but he doesnt put it on until just before he takes to the court.

YET THE CHAMP INSISTS: "I'm Not SUPERSTITIOUS"