| Test of three
Given that this Indian team is bent on charting its own course in the toughest of situations a contemporary cricket team will come across, and that in patches it has shown it has the mettle to do that, there is reason to be hopeful, of a strong fight at least. But before that, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team must sort out its internal dynamics in order to mount a successful challenge to the might and muscle of Australia. Pace or spin?
It's often said that a captain spoilt for choice is a fortunate one. Strictly by definition then, the India captain is in that position. He can't make up his mind whether to play five bowlers in the first place and if five bowlers, then how many medium-pacers? "It's confusing," Dhoni said on Saturday. "We have to decide how many bowlers and if five, then see whether it's four-one or three-two (pace-spin).
Police arrest two men in baseball bat, gun scuffle
Officers responding to reports of men running around the complex waving baseball bats about 3:30 a.m. received another call before they reached the complex in the 1200 block of Cleveland Street. They were notified that callers were saying the men had shotguns. A victim who said the men were driving around the parking lot in a car with their headlights turned off flagged down the officers. Officers found the car and found bats and a BB gun that resembled a shotgun inside, according to the police report. They also found shotgun shells and a box for a shotgun, but they did not find the shotgun. Witnesses said there was a party at an apartment and several people were told to leave because they were causing a disturbance. Some of those people returned several times.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes
Like a plentiful oil well, the European Union (EU) has found, since 2004, that Microsoft is a rich source of funds. The EU allowed Microsoft to continue to operate in the region, but found it in violation of antitrust laws. Its conclusion -- in order to stay Microsoft will have to pay some big fines. The Microsoft fines began in March of 2004 when a European Commission high court found the company guilty of antitrust violations -- in particular, using underhanded tactics to freeze out its competitors in the media player and server software markets. A massive fine of $690M (€497M) was charged against Microsoft. Microsoft refused to comply and was promptly fined an additional $375.4M USD. In the end, Microsoft's decision to fight the law turned out to be a futile one when the European Court of First Instance ruled to uphold European Commission's decision against Microsoft. Microsoft agreed to finally comply with the ruling.
St Helens overcome early jitters
With St Helens missing five regulars, after a surprise defeat at Hull KR last week, a large proportion of the Knowsley Road faithful feared that 1994 statistic may be repeated. Those worries looked justified when Lee Briers, discarded by his hometown club a decade ago, turned in a stellar performance to help his side into a 14-8 interval lead in this Engage Super League clash. That was despite Warrington losing Chris Bridge with a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon after 13 minutes and centre Matt King retiring with a leg problem. Early in the second half St Helens exposed King's absence with Chris Hicks switched to full-back and Vinnie Anderson playing as an emergency centre in front of a 13,396 crowd, who were treated to an 11-try spectacular. Five tries to two in the second half confirmed St Helens' recovery, but it was a hard-earned victory.
Britney Quits Psych Ward After Judge Bans Her From Kids
THE mother of troubled Britney Spears yesterday begged the singer's fans to pray for her. Lynne Spears' plea to "just say prayers" came as a judge banned the fallen star from seeing her children. The Los Angeles judge suspended her right of access to one-year-old Jayden James and Sean Preston, two. The decision came just hours before pals claimed Britney had left a hospital where she had been taken after a breakdown. Sources said the star had demanded to leave a psychiatric ward at Cedars-Sinai hospital against medical advice and was back at her home in Beverly Hills. Doctors said they no longer believed she was a danger and had no power to hold her. The custody blow follows a three-hour police siege at Britney's home on Thursday, when she refused to hand back her sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline after a visit.
Airlines crash land in red zone
Low cost airline Deccan Aviation reported losses of Rs 190.9 crore for the quarter ending December 31 2007, against a profit of Rs 9.64 crore it made during the same time in the previous year when it sold and leased back some aircrafts. Kingfisher Airlines, which is merging with Deccan Aviation as the liquor baron Vijay Mallya is the majority owner of both, did not disclose its large losses. State-run carrier, Air India’s (the merged entity) losses is likely to mount to Rs 1,000 crore in the current financial year against Rs 448 crore it lost in 2006-07. .
|
