The Ball's Rolling...

The world, his wife and their daughter’s white pet mouse are all looking at buying a new High Definition TV this summer. And the reason for that is the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2006.

The event is a couple of days away and the hype surrounding it is building quite well. News about players being snubbed from their national teams, choosing young blood over veteran strikers, football paraphernalia picking up sales, Brett Lee bidding farewell to the Austarlian squad, betting claims, hotels that would house the teams and even bikini clad models supporting their national teams are everywhere.

I was going through the morning paper the other day and I came across an article in the sports page from a human rights group urging Thai sex workers not to pop over to Germany during the World Cup. They could easily earn as much as four times what they earn at home, but the organizations prime concern was that they wouldnt get 'proper working conditions' in Germany.

Human rights group worried about sex workers not getting 'proper working conditions'? Shouldnt they be more involved in rehabilitating them??

With Brazil chasing their sixth World Cup title, and a bunch of titans ready to stop the South American powerhouse at the altar of greatness, and a host of newbies: trut me, for the next month and a half, everyones gonna forget just about every other sport on this planet. 'The Beautiful Game' will be given full coverage with highlights, insights and predictions.

The only problem is the match timings in Asia (read India); its way past midnight and there'll be a lot of people either taking leaves or walking into offices with bulging red eyes.

With the hype building up, and with its own proprietary twists and turns, this edition of the FIFA World Cup will be remembered.