Of bites, goals and handballs

You would notice a player for getting any one of them in a football match. How do you miss someone who manages all three. Luis Suarez has a litany of controversies lined against his name. He is a special talent in front of the goal but its the other antics that he demonstrates that outshine his deft footwork. His hand ball at the goal line to deny Ghana in the world cup quarters , his racial abuse of Evra and last night the nibble at Ivanovich's arm are some of the stunts that he has managed to pull in full public glare. That he scored an equalizer for the Reds in the dying minutes of stoppage time only highlights the big trench between his footballing and temperamental abilities. He literally handed the second goal to Chelsea only to get that back off his head in the 97th minute. There is something about extra ordinary talents that makes them snap easily. Luis has been named for the PFA award and there would not be many who would grudge him that for his football but there may be an army who would not find him deserving for acting like a cannibal.

The Bahrain grand prix got a repeat winner in Seb Vettel in a relatively uneventful race. With Alonso needing two pit stops to correct a faulty DRS, there were not  many who could challenge the German once he started from the front row. The Red Bull car with its pace was never threatened once it pulled out in front. He has now a comfortable ten point lead from the Finn Kimi who again finished on the podium. With the Spanish grand prix next in the offing, the Scuderia would be hoping that Fernando's luck turns for the better in his home race. FI's Paul Di Resta missed out on the podium by the barest of margins after a great run. Though he would not mind the twelve points, a top three finish would have been sweeter. The strategy to last his tires without an extra pit stop probably costing him a dream finish.

The Monte Carlo masters final served up the delicious pairing of Nadal and Nole fighting for the spoils. The Spaniard was an eight time champion as also defending his title. Rafa is a perennial favorite on his beloved clay and even Novak in his prime can only be considered a second bet against the indefatigable Rafa. The rain delay though helped the world number one come out firing all cylinders and he bagged the first set without much ado. The second however was more closely fought  and with a couple of breaks getting exchanged, it was only the tie breaker that could decide the set. Novak's mental strength helped him break the eleven time grand slam champion's hegemony losing just one point in the breaker. With Roland Garros being a month away, these two look comfortable to have another show down and anything else would sure be a big upset.