BPCL makes the grade!

Eventful in ways more than one, the final day of phase one in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament on Thursday provided a cornucopia of pulsating moments, notwithstanding the sharp showers that interrupted the schedule for over 45 minutes in the contest involving the top guns — IOC and Air India.

Notably, it was the twist to the script that accentuated the suspense when Indian Overseas Bank denied the Army XI a place in the semifinals but helped BPCL to gain that slot from Pool A. IOB won 2-1.

All that the Army team needed was a draw to keep BPCL out of contention. But surprisingly phlegmatic, both in approach work and confronted by a confident goal-keeper Sreejesh, the Army team failed to live up to the expectations.

BPCL, which has a better goal-aggregate and one goal difference against zero by Army, took the second spot in the pool behind ONGC.

By all accounts it was an inspiring performance by the home team which has been subjected to a lot of flak over its poor showing thus far. But on Thursday, IOB looked a transformed side and worked hard to get the moves going and received generous help from goalkeeper Sreejesh.

Needlessly circumspect, the Army defenders allowed IOB to gain the advantage. IOB hoisted the lead after fluent sally that involved Adam Sinclair and Muthanna before Vinod Rayar provided the finishing touches.

IOB hung on to the lead, but enlarged the margin when full-back Rupinderpal Singh struck from a penalty corner.

Desperate bid

Down in the dumps with hopes fading away, the Army XI made a desperate bid in the second-half. A goal-mouth scrimmage ended in Sreejesh being penalised for obstruction. John Jasrotia converted.

The quest for another goal intensified but IOB defenders stood their ground well to frustrate the Armymen.

In the needle contest the fortunes fluctuated tantalisingly.

Eventually, IOC trooped out a 3-2 winner, thanks to the deciding goal by Raghunath.

Prabhjot Singh gave IOC the lead after moving in tandem with Deepak Thakur but Vikas Pillay produced a sparkling drive to neutralise.

After the break, Joga Singh hit the target but Roshan Minz levelled for IOC after goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh had brought off two brilliant saves for Air India. Finally, the goal which turned out to be the match-winner came from Raghunath off a penalty corner.

Why the new iPhone may not be called iPhone 5?

Even before Apple sent out a cryptic invitation to the press for its Septmeber 12 event, the tech world was already abuzz with reports referring Apple's next-generation iPhone as the iPhone 5. After Apple's invitation, carrying a large shadow of the number 5, hit the mailboxes of tech bloggers and journalists, the tech journalist fraternity more or less seemed to confirm that the next iPhone will indeed be called the iPhone 5.

But Apple may have a surprise up its sleeve for us. It is likely that what we are calling the iPhone 5 may not turn out to be the iPhone 5 after all.

The use of the number 5 in the invite by Apple might be intended to play with the pre-conceived minds of tech buffs, and excite them a little more.

 

The 5 in the invite may mean something altogether different. Many recent reports have suggested that Apple may be launching a number of products at the September 12 event and hence the number 5 could be indicative of the number of products and not the name of any particular model.

Earlier in the year Apple named its third-generation iPad - the new iPad, and the new iPhone could be named the new iPhone.

Also, since the next iPhone will be the sixth-version of the trendsetting smartphone, calling it the iPhone 5 appears to be a break in the chronological order.

The suspense over the number 5 will be over on Wednesday night when Apple will announce to the world the name for its next-gen iPhone.

Deccan Chargers reject Rs 900 crore bid by PVP Ventures!

The sole bid for IPL team Deccan Chargers made by PVP Ventures, a film production firm, was rejected today by the  current owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings.

“The price and terms of payment were not acceptable to them (the owners of Deccan Chargers) so they rejected it,” BCCI President N Srinivasan told reporters in Mumbai today.

The company, which was the only firm to submit a bid for the team from Hyderabad, had bid Rs 900 crore, according to a Times Now report. However, the bid was opposed by the banks to whom current owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings owe money, CNN IBN said.

The BCCI had assisted the owners of Deccan Chargers in floating tenders and had examined financial criteria of the bidders, who had bid for the team, the BCCI President said.

“We found that they (PVP Ventures) were acceptable,” Srinivasan said.

However, the owners of the team Deccan Chargers rejected the bid and only they could comment on why it had been rejected, he said.

While refusing to comment on the future course of action for the sale of the team, Srinivasan said that the cricket board had issued notice to the Deccan Chargers to “cure certain defects” and have given them time to resolve them.

The BCCI is expected to take a final decision on Deccan Chargers at Working Committee Meeting on 15 September.

Shares of current team owners, Deccan Chronicle Holdings, dipped 2 percent following the decision.

Potluri Vara Prasad of PVP Ventures, that recently made a bilingual hit film Naan Ee, has financial interests in real estate, finance and entertainment.

In a statement issued following the announcement, the BCCI said,”The bid that was received by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited met the BCCI’s eligibility and suitability criteria. The bid was then reviewed by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited who, in its discretion and with no role being played by BCCI, rejected the bid on the basis of the payment terms offered by the bidder.”

Deccan Chargers has been unable to pay salaries to its players for their performance during the last edition of the IPL.

According to reports, among the corporate houses that were in the fray to buy the team included the RPG Group, infrastructure firm Jaypee Group and Hyderabad-based private equity fund Peepul Capital.

Private equity fund Peepul Capital, which had earlier shown interest in acquiring the media assets of Deccan Chronicle, had later said they were not to keen on funding the team. While RPG Group admitted to having bought the tender document, Videocon group which had initially said it was interested later said that they had no interest in buying the team anymore.

The fact that the new buyer will be responsible for clearing the liabilities of the current owner has held many back from bidding for Deccan Chargers, and has resulted in a lower valuation than expected for the team.

But for Deccan Chronicle Holdings, which is under scrutiny from its lenders across the country, the sale of the team may have come as a lifeline to do away with some part of its debt, estimated by some to be over Rs 4,000 crore.

NASA's Mars rover ready to 'drive, drive, drive'!

The Mars rover Curiosity was due to wrap up an exhaustive, weeks-long instrument check on Thursday, clearing the way for its first lengthy drive to determine whether the Red Planet has ever been hospitable to life, NASA officials said.

The six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover landed five weeks ago inside a giant impact basin called Gale Crater, near the Martian equator, to conduct NASA's first astrobiology mission since the 1970s-era Viking probes.

For its final equipment check, Curiosity will maneuver its robot arm so its close-up camera touches the tray where processed rock and soil samples will be analyzed.

The rover, equipped with an array of the most elaborate laboratory instruments ever sent to a distant world, also has a bit of sightseeing on its agenda. Scientists want to obtain video footage of the Martian moon Phobos passing by the sun.

Starting Friday evening, the plan is to "drive, drive, drive" until scientists find a suitable rock for the rover's first robotic "hands-on" analysis, mission manager Jennifer Trosper told reporters during a conference call on Wednesday.

It will stop when scientists find suitable soil to scoop up and run through Curiosity's onboard chemistry lab.

All the while, the rover will be heading toward a site scientists have labeled "Glenelg," where three different types of rock intersect. Glenelg, which lies about 1,312 feet (400 meters) away from Curiosity's current position, was named by mission geologists after a rock formation in northern Canada.

The overall purpose of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Lab mission is to search for places where microbial organisms could have evolved and been preserved. In addition to ferreting out the chemical and geologic footprints of water, Curiosity will hunt for organic compounds and other ingredients believed to be necessary for life.

Curiosity, which is designed to last two years, will venture about 4.3 miles (7 km) from its landing site to climb a 3-mile-high mound of layered rock rising from the floor of Gale Crater. Dubbed Mount Sharp, it is believed to be the remains of sediment that once filled the 96-mile wide (154-meter) basin.

The rover has racked up 358 feet (109 meters) on its odometer during test drives. Before setting out for Mount Sharp, scientists expect to drive Curiosity about 131 feet (40 meters) a day during its planned trek to Glenelg, with several stops for science observations.

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Sony Xperia SL debuts, brings 1.7GHz Qualcomm S3, ICS

Sony is continuing the tradition of releasing small refreshes of its flagship smartphones in the second half of the year. After last year's Xperia arc S, now company has quietly revealed Xperia SL. The smartphone sports an overclocked processor, however the rest of specifications remain the same.

Sony Xperia SL was spotted at the company's official website over the weekend. There is no word on the exact availability, but according to the website listing, it is "coming soon."

Other features of the phone include 4.3-inch 720p display, dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon S3 processor, Ice Cream Sandwich, 12.1-megapixel rear camera and front camera.

Xperia SL was earlier expected to be announced at IFA trade fair, but now as it is already official, we just need the pricing information.

Its predecessor Xperia S is a great smartphone marred by outdated software at launch (Read: Xperia S review), but with an overclocked processor and presence of Ice Cream Sandwich, company has fixed those issues in Xperia SL.

Key specs

• 1.7 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 dual-core processor
• 4.3" touchscreen - scratch-resistant TFT with 1280x720 pixels
• Weighs 144 g
• Google Android 4.0
• 1GB RAM
• FM Radio with RDS
• 27.8GB of internal storage
• NFC

Sachin Tendulkar gifts BMW car to shuttler Saina

Saina Nehwal received a BMW car for winning a bronze medal at the London Olympics from none other than batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who said that the world is yet to see the best of the star shuttler.

The felicitation function was organised by Vice President of Andhra Badminton Association Chamundeshwari Nath, who honoured the city girl by buying her the luxurious car.

"I am sure that she (Saina) is happy but not satisfied. We are also not satisfied because we know that you can go to greater heights. You have that ability with Gopi's guidance. There are better days ahead and as a sportsperson, you always try to believe that your best is yet to come," the iconic Indian batsman said at the felicitation function.

While announcing a BMW car for Saina and a car each for her coach P Gopichand and budding talent P V Sindhu, Sachin said, "I am quite confident that your best is yet to come and you will emerge victorious across the world and that is what we want".

Heaping praises on Saina, Tendulkar said,"Whatever I have seen of her there is no drama involved, it's just quality badminton and that is what you expect from a sportsperson. After winning (bronze medal) also, she has not got carried

away and that's the beauty of being a champion sport person".

Saina gave India its first-ever medal in badminton at Olympics when her Chinese opponent withdrew from the bronze medal play-off after injuring her knee.

"This medal means a lot for India, I am sure this medal has not come without dedication, hard work, focus and having a vision," Tendulkar said.

Congratulating all the medal winners, he said it was "terrific" for India at London. "You all deserve praise and good things that are coming your way," he added.

Responding to the accolade, Saina said she had waited for her Olympic moment since her childhood days.

"I dreamt of being a Olympic champion at the age of 9... It is unbelievable to have won the medal. I am so happy. I should thank Gopi sir for making it possible. He really worked hard with me for many years.

"Myself winning the first medal will really change a lot of things for badminton in India and I am sure we shall have lot more medals in future. I hope badminton becomes one of the most popular games, though may not be like cricket, in our country," Saina said.