Take Your Pick - Prophetic or Pathetic? - Week 5

I went a perfect 5 – 0 last week. Yay! Cal pummeled Az. State. The Irish rose back from the dead to beat the Spartans making us say “That’s why they are Michigan State!”. Texas won amid thunder and lightning. Ohio State’s offense sputtered but the defense helped out big time against Penn State. The kicking game spelled Bama’s doom against the Razorbacks.

• Texas Tech @ Texas A & M--------Pick: TEXAS A & M

• Ohio State @ Iowa------------------Pick: OHIO STATE

• Alabama @ Florida------------------Pick: FLORIDA

• Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech-----Pick: GEORGIA TECH

• Kansas @ Nebraska------------------Pick: NEBRASKA

Pick Accuracy

Kaushik

Last Week: -5 – 0

Season:---- 11 – 4 (73%)

Dinesh

Last Week: 3 – 2

Season:---- 7 – 3 (70%)

"Rang De Basanti" for Oscar? - You Can't be Serious!

It is disappointing to learn that “Rang de Basanti” is going to be the Indian representative for a shot at the Academy Award this season. India, is that the best you got? Well, if it is, then it is not good enough. Call “Rang De” a good Bollywood fare, I’m good with that. Heck, call it a good Indian film, I can live with that. But, let’s not kid ourselves and call it a movie that will command international attention. While it is not your run-of-the-mill movie with crass commercialism written all over it, it is not the “The Last Supper” by Da Vinci either.

“Rang de Basanti” rises above mediocrity for the most part. The first half is mostly about making up the reels so that it qualifies as a “desi” movie. God forbid, it should end before the two-hour mark. The songs are incongruous with the storyline and serve to only impede the pace of the narrative.

The climax is one of the worst in recent memory. Is the director trying to tell us that college educated youth who are supposedly inspired by freedom martyrs are naïve enough to think that the assassination of the Defence Minister solves many an ill afflicting the Indian society? And a Bollywood exclusive, the hero belabors to point out the rationale behind the assassination on national radio for the good part of ten minutes. And oh, let’s stop the madness with British dames falling hopelessly in love with our heroes for no rhyme or reason. “Lagaan” and “Rang de” are both are guilty of that. What’s worse, this love theme has absolutely no impact on the story. Goodness! Tamil movies, “Indian” and “Gentleman” would be better candidates and we all know that they were merely good commercial servings!

I’m going to make some educated guesses on why “Rang De” was selected as the Indian representative. Aamir Khan – It is true that his acting performance was very good. In fact, all of the actors were good. But, this nomination is for the movie, not acting. Lack of Other Quality Movies – This could be true. But, with Oscar, I would say, let’s hold ourselves to a minimum standard and not send any movies to the Academy, if we feel we didn’t produce a work close to international standard.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Chennai - Rediscovering Itself?

Neoliberalism has pervaded Chennai in a big way in the last decade and a half. There are MNCs every which way you happen to look. The twenty-somethings are sporting only Versace and Dior. You would most likely find half-a-dozen café latte shops before you come across a place that serves filter kaapi. The first thing that springs to mind, when I say “bar” is no longer a lawyer but rather a bar-tender. Sure, cultural influences had a lot to do with these things. However, people are not dreaming about such a living, they are living the dream. They have the purchasing power. So, how did we get to this point?

The Chennai economy has grown by leaps and bounds. The growth is being fueled by four industries; Semiconductor, Automotive, Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing. Consider the list of MNCs below that will have significant presence by 2007 in the Chennai metropolitan area.

An intriguing offshoot of the major players entering the field is the suppliers that they bring with them. Dell has brought Flextronics. Ford has brought Visteon. Motorola has brought Foxconn Semiconductor. Saint Gobain supplies automotive glass equipment to Hyundai, Ford, Mitsubishi, etc. When this phenomenon reaches a critical mass, it will establish an entry barrier in other cities. You will find newer companies typically choosing Chennai too because of the strong support infrastructure in terms of supplier firms.

A late bloomer in IT, Chennai has grown faster than expected. Facing stiff competition from Bangalore and Hyderabad, Chennai has held its own. The lowest attrition rate in the country (35 - 40%) and availability of skilled human capital has pretty much catapulted Chennai into the same league as the other two cybercities.

AT Kearney’s recent survey of Indian cities ranked Chennai #1 in the list of most attractive Indian cities for business offshoring services. Combined with the fact that Price Waterhouse Coopers rated India as the #1 destination for offshore services, this is a big feather in Chennai’s cap indeed.

This is some rich fuel concoction that is powering our economic engine. It is not beyond the realm of possibility to think that Chennai could be a major player in South Asia and may be even SE Asia. “Detroit of India” is past, it is time to shoot for “Detroit of South Asia”. Chennai is a juggernaut, a rolling stone that is gathering moss, and lots of it.

“Replication” is one thing the developed nations don’t take advantage of. For example, we don’t have to spend a lot of time and money in new research on roads. We can simply take advantage of developed nations and the systems that they already have in place. Why reinvent the wheel? After all, didn’t US take the Autobahn from Germany and adapt it?

As a developing nation, we had a lot of catching up to do. I thought of an interesting indicator (see table below) of how we have progressed. The time lag has dropped significantly. The rate of development has been very good and we are at a point where we are close to being on par with the US. While this is great, the next thing we need to think about is the “law of diminishing returns”. We will encounter situations where the payoffs will not be on par with the effort. How do we bring in a quantum change then? The answer is “innovation”. Innovation will be the final straw that will tip the scales in our favor and make us a world leader, from a follower; a developed nation from a developing one. It is going to be an exciting few decades ahead for India!

Commodity	Commonplace in US (Yr)	Commonplace in India (Yr)	Time Lag (Yr)
Television	1950s	1980s	30
Telephones (landlines)	1965	1990	25
Internet	1990	1999	9
iPod	2001	2006	5

Take your Pick - Prophetic or Pathetic? - Week 4

“Separation Saturday” lived up to the hype. Notre Dame was man handled by Michigan (one of those wrong picks that is worth the price). Oregon was bailed out by the zebras. Florida looked good. LSU vs. Auburn was a close game but was an eye-sore. Upset pick did not quite work out (I had Nebraska over USC). Texas rolled over rice with Texas penalties (150 yds) being the major part of Rice offense!

This week is going to be a calm one. Not a lot of great match-ups. Nevertheless, here goes…

• Arizona State @ California -- --------Pick: CALIFORNIA

• Notre Dame @ Michigan State--- ----Pick: NOTRE DAME

• Iowa State @ Texas ----------- -------Pick: TEXAS

• Penn State @ Ohio State -------------Pick: OHIO STATE

• Alabama @ Arkansas ---------- -----Pick: ARKANSAS

Pick Accuracy

Kaushik

Last Week: 3 – 2

Season:---- 6 – 4

Dinesh

Last Week: 4 – 1

Season:---- 4 – 1

Baseball & Business

Yesterday, one of my directors at work was giving us a pep talk about continuous improvement, etc. To drill it into boneheads like yours truly, he used a football analogy. He said, “We are the quarterback of the organization. If we throw a great ball and the receiver drops it, we have to get in his face about it, but that doesn’t mean we stop throwing the ball back to him”. I thought this was a nice way to put it. Business is a team sport. If another team makes a mistake, we should be calling them out about it, but that doesn’t mean we should lose trust in them.

A cup of Joe and a meeting later, I was thinking of how many sports terms we come across in business everyday, especially baseball. How if I do a great job (ok! That’s rare!), I would have “hit it out of the ball park”. If Joe Smith goofs up, he is supposed to have “dropped the ball”. People arrange meetings to “touch base” with others. If the numbers from my analysis don’t look right (often the case), they are “not even in the same ballpark”!

If a task is easy to achieve, it is a “slam-dunk”. If I have an incorrect understanding of a project, I am “way off base”. If I am big risk-taker, I am labeled as one who “swings for the fences”. If a major change occurs midway through a project, it becomes “a whole new or whole another ballgame”. Executives think about employee succession strategy, otherwise known as “stocking the bull pen”.

Of course, we have all heard of someone getting “strike one, two, three and out”. If he/she had “stepped up to the plate” and “hit a home run”, “right of the bat”, they could have saved themselves. I guess when your manager “throws a curveball”, it is hard to hit indeed. Finally, if all of this did not make a whole lot of sense to you; obviously, you are “way out there on the left field”!

Of course, there is a whole another analogy about “rounding bases” and “getting home”, which I won’t get into, in this piece!! ;-)

Take Your Pick - Prophetic or Pathetic? - Week 3

Tough loss for Texas last week. But, they will be back! Clemson lost in double OT spoiling my pick record to 3 – 2. On the sunny side, at least it is a winning record. Without further ado, here are my picks for what is going to be the most exciting week of this 2006 regular season. A great slate of games! My Nebraska pick is an “inspired” upset pick!

• Michigan @ Notre Dame ----------Pick: NOTRE DAME

• Nebraska @ USC Trojans ---------Pick: NEBRASKA

• LSU @ Auburn ----------------------Pick: AUBURN

• Florida @ Tennessee --------------Pick: FLORIDA

• Oklahoma @ Oregon ---------------Pick: OREGON

Pick Accuracy

Last Week: 3 – 2

Season:---- 3 – 2

Will Colt Fire Right? Ohio State vs. Texas

More a century of football history, nine championship titles between them, arguably the icons of their respective states, I could go on all day and still may not do justice to Ohio State and Texas. The week is here and the magical night will descend upon Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium soon. Two teams whose oozing talents are only belittled by the lofty expectations of their alma mater and fan bases. To add the cherry to this Sundae, it is a 1 vs. 2 match-up on a Saturday night. Could one be greedy and ask as Oliver Twist did, “I want some more”? It is hard to imagine, but the game could outlive its hype. “Proof?” you say, last year’s game in the Shoe. Okay, let’s try a quick and clean breakdown of this colossal clash, shall we?

Offense

Running Backs

JC is under-rated outside of TX and he will be a surprise speedy back against a porous OSU run defense. One of the best OLs in college in front of him, JC and Selvin will ensure Texas has a 170-yd rushing game. While Pittman and frosh Chris Wells are above average, the Texas Run D will be too much for them.

Advantage: TEXAS

Quarterbacks

Troy Smith is more talented and experienced and has a big edge over Colt or Jevan.

Advantage: OHIO STATE

Tight-Ends

Texas has to replace the efficient and reliable David Thomas. J Finley and Tweedie should be able to step up though. OSU does not have a Jeremy Shockey and have 3 freshmen and a soph instead. Hardly scary!

Advantage: TEXAS

O-Line

The Horns have one of the top 3 offensive lines in the nation. Sendlein, Dockery, Blalock, Studdard are all big and agile. Quite capable of pass-blocking and run protection. The OSU O-line is not bad either.

Advantage: EVEN

Receivers

While Sweed, Cosby and Pittman are very good, it is hard to go against a receiving corps captained by Ted Ginn (even after disregarding the hype).

Advantage: OHIO STATE

Defense

D-Line

Texas boasts a spectacular D-line with Crowder, Robison, Okam and Lokey. Their back-ups are no less talented either. Pitcock and Patterson are proven for OSU but others don’t have game experience.

Advantage: TEXAS

Line-Backers

OSU will miss the Sunday players (Hawk, Schlegel and Carpenter).

Advantage: TEXAS

Defensive Backs

Although a bit inexperienced, Texas is deep in this position led by Aaron Ross and Michael Griffin. OSU has some brand new faces.

Advantage: TEXAS

Kicking and Special Teams

Texas has blocked the most number of kicks/punts in NCAA since ’99 or 2000. Return game is solid. Greg Johnson is reliable in kicking and punting. OSU has Ted Ginn!

Advantage: EVEN

Coaching

I would have given the edge to Tressell last year, but now both have won a national title and are well respected.

Advantage: EVEN

Environment

DKR is not the best college atmosphere. As much as I love Austin, it is a semi-pro style crowd. The end zone seats are some distance away from the field. The open architecture does not create a gladiatorial feel. Plus, OSU has experience playing in bigger and better stadiums like Happy Valley and the Big House. However, the heat may be a factor. Texas players displayed no uneasiness last week in the high noon heat of Texas. They may be better conditioned. But, I am going to call this even.

Advantage: EVEN

Verdict: Light the Tower Orange! Hook ‘Em Horns!

Score: 31 – 24

Game MVP: Jamaal Charles, RB, TEXAS

ESPN.com Fan Poll showed that 109,000 had voted with 58% predicting an OHIO STATE win. We’ll see about that!

Football Picks - Prophetic or Pathetic - Week 2

I have rolled the dice for the first time this season and here are my college football game picks for Week 2. (I know, I should have begun in Week 1. Laziness won that battle). Better late than never! Going forward, you can see how I fared the previous week and in the season.

• Ohio State @ Texas; Pick: TEXAS

• Penn State @ Notre Dame; Pick: NOTRE DAME

• Georgia @ South Carolina; Pick: GEORGIA

• Clemson @ Boston College; Pick: CLEMSON

• Washington @ Oklahoma; Pick: OKLAHOMA

Pick Accuracy

Last Week: 0 – 0

Season:---- 0 – 0

This Week, Last Year - Texas @ Ohio State

The day was Sep 10, 2005 when the ‘Horns played the Bucks last year and I was on a nine-hour flight from Chennai to Paris, cut off from the world. Even “Da Vinci Code” could not keep me from thinking about this game.

It was like looking at a fast-paced montage of images on TV; Robert Langdon unscrambling “O’ Draconian Devil” into “Leonardo Da Vinci”; Vince pulls one down and is streaking past the Buckeye Sam linebacker and the safeties for a score; Sir Leah Teabing keeping the mood light with a joke about how a Harvard sculler has never won over an Oxford one; Vince completes a clutch third-down pass to a wheel-route running TE David Thomas…you get the idea…

Without much luck in finding a USA Today at any of the Paris airport concession stands, I was pleasantly surprised to be handed one on the plane from Paris to Cincinnati. Alright! Here we go, I thought. Sports pages… nothing about the game.. Turns out it was the previous day’s edition. Oh, talk about dangling a carrot in front a mule! Thus, I was relegated to playing the game in my own mind for another nine hours.

Landing in Cincinnati, Ohio, clad in burnt orange, was a calculated risk on my part. After all, isn’t fortune supposed to favor the brave? After clearing customs, I dared to ask a baggage handler (wearing an OSU hat) about the game. His reply, “Ah! It was so close last night, we should have won... blah.. blah”. I had heard enough. It was a “W” for Texas. My jet lag was up in vapors just like that. The final segment of my trip from Cinci to Houston was a pleasant one. I got a recap of the game from another fan that was flying back to Texas after bearing witness to this epic classic at the Horseshoe. What an indelible “I was there” moment for him.

Needless to say, I have been counting down to 09/09/06 ever since. That day is now less than three days away. This time, I am watching the game!!

PS: Look for a preview and prediction of this year’s game in the next day or two in a separate post.