Sposcars 2011 - And the award goes to...

As we approach the end of another enthralling and thoroughly entertaining year in sports, it would be rude not to honour and appreciate the sportsman’s achievements. And what better way to do it than do it in the grandeur Academy Awards or the Oscars format. Here is my rendition of the Oscars for sports – The SPOSCARS 2011

• Best Writing – The story of Li Na

Happy Ending

The climax of this story couldn’t have been scripted any better. The Chinese tennis star, who has had a history of injuries found herself at the helm of the Women’s Tennis world. She became the first ever person from Asia to win a Grand Slam when she defeated the Italian stalwart Francesca Schiavone in the French Open finals with a scoreline 6-4, 7-6. A very proud moment for her indeed, and to the one-sixth of the world’s population.

• Best Screenplay – MS Dhoni

Man with the midas touch

Whatever maybe the predicament that India finds itself in, MSD always has a way out. His decisions, however weird they may seem, eventually pay off. Be it be starting the proceedings with a spinner, or handing over the crucial overs to the part-timers. Dhoni truly scripts the sequence of events, and the manner in which it is executed seem pre-written, which is why, MSD, this year, has been a PhD in screenplay writing.

• Best Make-up – Mario Balotelli

The haír…they are a changin'

Amongst all the other Lady Gaga wannabes this year, Italian footballer Mario Balotelli is by far the only player in the sporting world who has got it absolutely right. The ever-changing hairstyle coupled with the mercurial attitude, certainly gives Balotelli’s mohican the edge over Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna, a very close nominee.

• Best special effects – Jose Mourinho

Time and again the Portuguese has proven that he can be as entertaining as the players he coaches.And for all the wrong reasons. Pointing and running towards the crowd, laughing at Ronaldo’s attempt to win a header and pinching the opposing coach in the midst of a brawl are just some of his antics that drew him clear off his competitors for this award that included the winner of the previous award Mario Balotelli. Even if his team doesn’t win the Champions League or falters in the Liga BBVA, atleast Mourinho has this prestigious SPOSCAR to show off for a eventful year.

• Lifetime Achievement Award – Vishwanathan Anand

Grandmaster at work

His life may be confined to a game played on 64 squares on a board, but he is unassailable in it. A history of victories, accolades, awards and honours made the decision to awards him this award fairly obvious. A Chess Grandmaster and India’s pride.

• Best Supporting Female players– Ms. Krishna Sehwag and Mrs Aarti Sehwag

Although not sportspersons, both of them in my opinion, are joint winners of this award considering the emotional and psychological support they provide Virender Sehwag with. Behind every successful man,there is a woman. A true tribute to this saying has been his amazing display at Indore, two triple centuries in the past and the consistent blitzkrieg starts for the team. Its comes as no surprise that Virender Sehwag is in the candidature for the best player category.

• Best Supporting Male player – Rahul Dravid

The Wall stands tall

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone seeing Rahul Dravid aka Mr.Dependable aka The Wall getting this award. He has been the Superman to the Indian cricket team, which in the past has constantly got itself into heaps of trouble during Test matches. Hats off to Mr. Dravid for being the epitome of resilience and class, and congratulations to the runner up of this award, Mr.VVS Laxman. Better luck next time.

• Best Director – Pep Guardiola

And….ACTION!!

He has marshaled his Catalan troops well and helped them win the Premier League and Champions trophy of 2010 which concluded in 2011 and looking at the current scenario,he seems to have done a pretty decent job in directing his resources towards winning the Liga BBVA again and become the champions of Europe. Best of luck Pep, because looking at Real’s form, you are going to need it.

• Best Player Female – Caroline Wozniacki

Impressive show for 2011

She has been the most impressive tennis player in the world, a fact reflected in the WTA rankings where she has been on top for a staggering 56 weeks. The 21 year old, began her WTA career in 2005 and has since won 18 Singles titles, six of which she won in 2011. Although yet to win a women’s grand slam, she has taken the WTA world by storm and she gets the SPOSCAR for Best female player for 2011.

• Best Player Male – Lionel Messi

Genius

Some say, he is the best footballer in the world today, some call him the sum of all that is classy and sublime in the football ground, some call him a creature that pops up from nowhere in any part of the field; but to the Academy, he is definitely the recipient of this year’s SPOSCAR for Best Player Male, and with the way things are going, he will be the recipient for the years to come.

• Best Picture – The Cricket World Cup 2011

A picture usually says a thousand words, but this one said a billion.

The glory that brought the country alive

Now lets take a moment to remember all our beloved stars who left us for the heavenly abode.

• Gary Speed, 43, Welsh football player and manager
• Peter Roebuck, 55, cricket commentator and former cricketer
• Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi,70, former Indian cricketer
• Socrates,57, former Brazil international midfielder
• Naoki Matsuda, 34, Former Japan international defender
• Marco Simoncelli, 24, Italian MotoGP racer.
• Lance Lumsden, 71, former Jamaican tennis player.

Your presence will be sorely missed.

Thank you all so much for being patient readers of this year’s SPOSCARS. Be sure to tune in for next year’s as well. Till then, goodbye and goodnight.