Poor Planning in the Super 8 Schedule

The Super 8 schedule for the T20 World Cup has been made in a poorly planned way. Many fans are confused and disappointed with how the teams were placed. Let us look at the details in simple terms.

 The tournament began with the Group Stage. There were four groups: 

• Group A 

• Group B 

• Group C 

• Group D 

From each group, the top two teams qualified for the Super 8. That means 8 teams moved to the next round. 

In the Super 8 stage, there are two new groups: 

• Super 8 Group A 

• Super 8 Group B 

But here is where the problem begins. 

Instead of mixing the teams fairly, the organizers placed: 

• All the number one teams (group winners) into Super 8 Group A 

• All the number two teams (runners-up) into Super 8 Group B 

This decision does not make sense. 

Putting all the top teams together in one group is not fair. These teams worked hard to finish first in their groups. But now they have to compete against other strong group winners. At the same time, all the second-place teams are together in the other group. This makes their path to the semi-finals easier. With this setup: 

• Two number one teams will definitely be eliminated before the semi-finals. 

• Two number two teams will surely reach the semi-finals. 

This does not reward teams for finishing first in the group stage. 

A fair system would be: 

• Each Super 8 group should have two number one teams. 

• Each Super 8 group should also have two number two teams. 

This way, both groups would be balanced. Every team would have an equal challenge. Finishing first in the group stage would actually give an advantage. 

In my opinion, this scheduling shows poor planning. Big tournaments like the T20 World Cup should be organized carefully. Fans expect fairness and smart decisions. 

What do you think?

Good Human Being

It was an Australian Tennis Open two days ago. First round match. Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey, seeded number 112 in the world was playing 11th seeded in the world, Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. As Alexandrova was serving for the second set to level the tie, the ball girl - stood beside the umpire's chair - fell flat on her back before quickly getting back up. 

At that point, Sonmez holds up her hand to pause the game, and the Turkish-born athlete walks over to the ball girl, placing the ball girl's arm over her shoulder in an effort to help her stay on her feet. 

The game between Sonmez and Alexandrova resumed after a six-minute delay, 

Afterwards, the Turkish player said: "I always say it is more important to be a good human being than a good tennis player," she added. "It was just my instinct to help her and I think everyone would do the same. I'm happy I got to help." 

Karma always rewards who does good thing. 112 seeded Zeynep of Turkey upset that day the 11th seeded Alexandrova of Russia 7-5 4-6 6-4. 

Monuments Named After Leaders

We always name some places or monuments after our departed leaders. For Example: 

Anna Nagar (Chennai) – Named after C. N. Annadurai, former CM of Tamil Nadu

Kamarajar Salai (Chennai) – Named after K Kamaraj, former CM of Tamil Nadu

Jawaharlal Nehru Road (in many cities) – Named after Mr. Nehru, former PM of India

Washington DC – Named after George Washington 

Charles de Gaulle Airport (Paris) – Named after Charles de Gaulle, former President 

In rare cases, places/monuments are named after sitting leaders. Some examples: 

Stalingrad – Named after Joseph Stalin in 1925 when he was in power. (Again renamed Volgograd in 1961)

Marcos Highway – Named during Ferdinand Marcos’s Presidency in Philippines

Now our own Donald Trump named himself to a monument.  Here are the details:

There is a large performing arts center in Washington, D.C., with theaters for music, dance, opera, and plays. It opened as National Cultural Center in 1958. This project was renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1964 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy after his assassination. 

Yesterday the Board of Directors of the Center unanimously approved the name change. A few months ago, Trump appointed himself as the Chairman of that Board. Now it is known as The Donald Trump and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Of course, the JFK family does not like this. And, law suits are coming challenging this name change. Their contention is the JFK name was established by an Act of Congress and only the Congress can make any changes and not the Board of Director of the Center.