EVERY GREAT SPORTSMAN HAS A FALL !

The topic may look wierd, and being written on the 1001st day of Roger Federer's No. 1 rankings in men's tennis is not to discourage Fedex, but to bring the reality.. Wish that he continues for another 2000 days like this... Also the blog is not on tennis, but on road races... Guessed it right, on the Grand Prixs and Rallies.. How many of us would have expected Valentino Rossi to miss the bus the day Fedex completed 1000 days as No. 1. For those like me who saw the race live on television, the message is loud and clear - every great sportsman has a fall - yeah, the fall meant Rossi finishing "unlucky" at 13 and ultimately missing the crown he held for 5 years. Did the followers of Moto GP thought that Valentino would allow Toni Elias to overtake him in the final straight at Portugal to take the top honours - he lost valuable 5 points there - else he would have atleast tied up with Nicky Hayden ! Should I call all these things as bad luck or the end of the road for the champion !

Lets move out from Moto GP to Moto Racing, the formula 1. The king of F1 has surrendered his throne. Schumi, a seven time champion has lost for the second consecutive time to Fernando Alonso. Though his manufacturers did not support him in the first half of the year, he came back strongly and gave stiff competition to Nando !! But, an engine failure (the last being in 2001) in Japan denied him a crown and forced him to go to Brazil with a hope that his competitor's engine also fails !! But, his bad luck continued - a fuel leak during qualifying ensured that he starts from P10 on the grid - hold on, his bad luck did not leave him there - when he moved from P10 to P5, a puncture on the rear tyre ensured he is done - finally finishing a brave 4th.. But, it would have done a world of good had he made his exit from F1 by winning in Brazil.

Why should I leave the other road racer who is on his high - yeah, he is on course (sorry, already assured) for his third consecutive crown.. Kudos for getting it right - Sebastian Loeb will the WRC champion of 2006, having held it in 2004 and 2005 as well... Hope the day of his fall comes much later, atleast after he also completes 5 consecutive crowns like Rossi and Schumi and lets pray Fedex continues his best form for years !!