Twenty eight. Almost half a lifetime. Seven World Cups. Many prime ministers. An economic upheaval. From one television channel to a zillion. In 1983, my dad had to wait eight months before he could own a land line phone. Apparently he was luckier than many.

From Kapil to Gavaskar to Vengsarkar to Srikkanth to Azhar to Sachin to Ganguly to Dravid to Dhoni. Phew! At last. From Srikkanth ecstatically puffing on a cigarette in the Lord’s balcony to Yuvraj Singh sobbing emotionally at the Wankhede.



Twenty eight. The answer to all things in our universe.

The study includes analysis of the socioeconomic impacts of the World Cup and how to make the World Cup “greener,” and it aims to identify ways in which Brazil can ensure that “the event lasts not only a few days, but many years, leaving a positive legacy for society as a whole.”

Although Beijing may have done a better job for the 2008 Olympics, Athens still suffers from sports facilities in ruins from hosting the 2004 edition. Although the football (soccer) World Cup is not as diverse and facilities-intensive as the Olympics, I'm glad Brazil is considering sustainability as its top priority.

"Cheating and breaking the rules of the game (and there is a subtle distinction between the two) are as old as the game itself, and one doesn’t have to support the actions of Suarez to understand that, in football, these things happen and that they are part and parcel of the game. It may even be part of the appeal of the game, that human frailty (physical, psychological and moral) plays such a part in it. Those bringing up the notion of changing the laws of the game should be careful of what they wish for."

"Small Retailer Bet Well on Vuvuzelas, but Key-Word Ads Don't Work for Some"

"So, what changed?
Look no further than Major League Soccer. It's easy to poke fun at MLS, when people bother to consider it at all. Bear in mind, however, that the man on the horse found it easy to laugh at the man trying to push his Ford Model A out of a muddy ditch. While no one would argue that MLS has advanced as significantly as the automobile, there has nonetheless been serious progress."

"Apple’s United States App Store offers a collection of World Cup and soccer-related programs. Nearly all of the apps (some of which also run on the iPad, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Palm, Android and other devices) provide team-by-team analysis, match schedules, background on the stadiums being used for the tournament and a promise to provide real-time scoring updates once the tournament begins."

"Follow our high-speed replay of the World Cup and find out how Twitter reacted to every game"

"I thought I'd curate the sites I will visit during the world cup and list them out for the benefit of the half dozen people that visit this site. I'll list them out in categories, i.e., mainstream media, blogs and podcasts."

"US sports broadcaster ESPN has released details of its World Cup 2010 television coverage. If you’re reading this from outside the US, you may not think this is big news. But for American soccer fans, it is. "

The Twenty20 World Cup final on Monday between India and Pakistan is being billed as one of the biggest finals in recent times.