Online Chess

Happy Birthday Ronaldo

The God that people venerate does not carry a Cross ....
Ask the Footballing World , My God carries a no "9" on his back...

Wishing Ronaldo a very Happy 30th Birthday....
-Avi@ronaldo

www.photoblog.com

Photoblog is a free photoblogging service that enables you to preserve and share memories of daily life through photographs.

The Evolution of a Programmer

Lage Raho Munnabhai

We live in a cynical world, but even in such times, sometimes a person, book or film comes along and shows you a tiny crack in the wall behind which there is a lot of light, and suddenly your heart is full of happiness. Lage Raho Munnabhai is one such film that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and also makes you feel good to be a human being.

Read more about the movie

Google vs. Yahoo

Search wars are on, mashup style. Google and Yahoo go head to head and compare mapping and search results in these two beautiful mashups

Lalu to teach management at IIM-A

He may be the quintessentially rustic politician whose 15-year-rule in Bihar as chief minister was dubbed by critics as 'jungle raj,' but India's Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is set for an image makeover when he dons the role of a lecturer at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad next month.Read More

Premiership and Spanish League Points Chart

Check Out Live Points Chart every week , Compare points between different teams ..

What does your browser reveal about you?

I often tend to judge people based on the type of browser they use. Believe it or not, the choice of your favorite browser reveals a lot about your personality.

IE 5.0:
You only use your computer for IM, email and Myspace. You stubbornly refuse to upgrade that ancient Win 98 box that you are using because you don’t need some fancy computer and in your opinion the one you have works just fine. You also probably don’t use antivirus or antispyware either. You just let your son/nephew/friend clean it out every month or so.

IE 6.0:
You probably don’t know what a “browser” is and you think Internet is IE. You have no clue about technology, and you are generally afraid of computers. You also use your machine only for IM, chat, email and myspace. Your friends keep telling you about that “Fried Fox” thingy but you don’t really understand this stuff and never really had time to look into it.

IE 7.0:
You consider yourself to be on the cutting edge of technology. You think that Microsoft is the greatest company on the earth, and that this evil “Lenoux” operating system is made by terrorists. You have a poster of Steve Ballmer on your wall, and you want to be like Bill Gates when you grow up. When you think about Vista you get goosebumps and shiver with excitement.

Firefox 1.x:
You are most likely a little bit geeky and proud of it. You are a strong supporter of the Open Source movement, and you think that RMS is “the man”. You really don’t care if FF is faster, or safer than IE - you would use it even if it performed 10 times worse. You are just happy that you have a free, open source browser with a huge community that is supporting it. At any given time you have installed at least 7 extensions that you couldn’t live without.

Firefox 2.0 Beta:
You are a developer by day and open source developer by night. Either that, or a huge Firefox fan. You are all over Bugzilla reporting all the issues you encounter with the browser. You have probably summited at least one patch to an open source project at some point in your life. You love to tinker with your applications, and you don’t mind running beta software on your machine. After all, it is fun to discover new bugs, and to work little kinks out of the new cutting edge programs.

Mozilla:
You have been with Mozilla since the begging. You think that Firefox is really over-hyped and you prefer the old school Netscape like environment much better. You don’t think the Moz Suite is bloated - you actually like having a mail client, irc client, and a web editor embedded in the browser. You don’t understand why people would pick a browser with less features. In all other aspects you are much like a Firefox user - you love Open Source, you are fond of your extensions and etc… Actually, no - you would rather say that Firefox users are much like you in their tastes. After all, you were using an awesome gecko powered browser while they were still struggling with their IE or whatever.

Opera:
You really don’t care for they Firefox hype. What you want is the best browser there is - and for you that’s Opera. You actually used to pay them when the browser was ad supported. If a Firefox fanboi starts talking smack about your browser you quickly shoot him down by proposing the ACID2 test. You know what you want (a fast, standards compliant browser) and you know where to get it. Browser wars do not interest you at all, although you kinda hope that Firefox wins so that fewer web developers make IE only pages.

Netscape 8.x:
You are a senior citizen, who just recently got a new computer. You don’t really understand anything about the internets, but you distinctly remember that you must have Netscape to run them. You can’t understand all that talk about Internet Explorator and Firesomething, and you have no clue what Oprah has to do with the internets. All you know is that you need to click on that big N to get to the “onlines”. You think that Senator Steven’s speech about net neutrality made a lot of sense. You also sent out an internet one day, and the other person haven’t received it for days.

Netscape 7 and below:See IE 5.0.

Run Ronaldo Run

Use the UP ARROW KEY to make him jump. Use the DOWN ARROW to make him duck. Collect the golden shoes as they give Ronaldo speed. Avoid the burgers and the milkshakes, they will slow him down. Get to the ball before Crespo and score.

Cartoons....

Top 2006 Manchester Utd Transfer Target

Following the sale of Ruud van Nistelrooy, United have been linked with some of the world's finest strikers as potential replacements.

Argentine wunderkind Carlos Tevez and Brazilian superstar Adriano are the latest big names tipped to be the subject of Sir Alex Ferguson's interest, while Fernando Torres is allegedly still arousing interest despite insisting that he will stay in Spain.

Chelsea Under Manchester Utd Radar...

What makes them think they’ll do any better this season?
In their eyes the league is as good as taken for granted, but the Champions League has become a must-have.

United bogeyman
More like bogey team. Chelsea have chalked up some great wins at Old Trafford in the past, but were stopped by Darren Fletcher’s winner last season.

OT connections
Sir Matt Busby played three times for Chelsea during the Second World War.

Headline maker
Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian is expected to deliver lots of goals.

Under the radar
Salomon Kalou, Chelsea’s low-key summer signing. The 20-year-old slipped into SW6 without the fuss of Shevchenko or Ballack, but made a real name for himself at Feyenoord.

How will United beat them?
A win at Old Trafford is essential. Thankfully, Sir Alex is the master of setting out his team for the big occasion.

The key ins and outs
In: Andriy Shevchenko (Milan); Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich); Salomon Kalou (Feyenoord); John Obi Mikel (Lyn Oslo).

Out: Carlton Cole (West Ham); Eidur Gudjohnsen (Barcelona); Jiri Jarosik (Celtic); Glen Johnson (Portsmouth, loan).

The Gaffer: Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has broken the Ferguson-Wenger double-act that dominated the early years of the Premiership. Now the three giants who have accounted for all but one of the fourteen titles since 1993 are ready to face off again. Only United have been able to claim the Premiership while reaching and winning the final of the Champions League. As Mourinho wants that very same prize above all others, this could be the season that tests him most. The pressure to deliver is on.

Vital stats
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Capacity: 42,360
Last season: Champions
Top scorer: Frank Lampard, 20
Odds: Title 1-2, relegation 5000-1
When did they last win anything? FA Premiership, 2005-6
Last season: 1-0 (h); 0-3 (a)
United’s Premiership record against Chelsea: P28 W8 D11 L9 F35 A39

What to sing: “You should have signed for a big club…”

Electric atmosphere in friendly draw -- I was there to see barca play and practice

Ronaldhino , Messi , Saviola , Zambrotta , Eto'o , Thuram , Xavi , Puyol....phewwwww ..the enitre barcelona team ...what an experience ..check out more pictures from the training and the game .



LOS ANGELES -- Who says that soccer struggles to find its way among fans in the U.S. sporting landscape? Truth is, its foothold has been here for quite some time.

The latest evidence of this fact -- 92,650 people packed the Los Angeles Coliseum to witness the pageantry and aura that surrounds FC Barcelona, the magic of Ronaldinho and CD Guadalajara (Chivas), arguably the best-supported professional sports team in southern California, play to a 1-1 draw as part of a doubleheader that saw Chivas USA and the New England Revolution finish 90 minutes by the same scoreline in the opener.

92,650! The most fans ever to watch a club soccer match in the United States. The most people to watch a soccer match in the Coliseum. More fans than USC football games regularly gather. Flashing bulbs, lighted flares, fireworks, streamers, fans doing the wave, Kobe Bryant, L.A. mayor Antonio Villaragosa and all.

"I think it's wonderful to play in an atmosphere like this," said Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, the former Dutch international. "It certainly helps the players. I think you have a lot of soccer fans over here.

"It was important for us to play this game in a good ambience with a lot of people. In an ambience like this, you can't talk about it like a friendly anymore. The ambience helps to add intensity. That's a good thing."

Soccer fans certainly got a good thing Sunday afternoon in reigning European Cup champion Barcelona and reigning European Player of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho. Barcelona's first stop on its three-match U.S. tour, which continues in Houston on Wednesday vs. Club America and concludes Saturday vs. New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium, amused and mesmerized the pro-Chivas crowd.

Interestingly enough, Chivas fans reserved their loudest ovations for two Barcelona players -- Ronaldinho and Rafael Marquez, the Mexico captain. Marquez played the first half, Ronaldinho the second. Giovanni Dos Santos, star of Mexico's U-17 world champion team, also came on for Barca in the 62nd minute to the pleasure of the Chivas fans, whom were seen roaming the streets adjacent to the Coliseum streets and tailgating in the parking lot as early as five hours before kickoff to Sunday's main event. Parking fees cost as much as $60.

Not all was perfect. The dry, patchwork field left much to be desired in hosting teams of this caliber. Barcelona no-shows on the pitch included Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi, Portuguese maestro Deco and both new signings from the sinking ship of Juventus, Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta, who only joined the team in the last couple of days. This was to be expected given Barcelona has just begun their preseason training for the upcoming club season and is no way close to being match-fit.

However, Barca's top-five world striker Samuel Eto'o showed a few flashes of individual brilliance in playing the opening half. Left back Carlos Puyol captained the side before being removed in the 42nd minute. Holland international Mark van Bommel and French World Cup finalist Ludovic Giuly started. Spain's Andres Iniesta and Holland's Giovanni van Bronckhorst came on in the final half.

The match rose to a new level of excitement and elevated the crowd by a few decibel levels with Ronaldinho's inclusion to begin the second half. Flashbulbs provided a strobe-light sensation inside the Coliseum from the minute he jogged onto the pitch out of the tunnel and continued for at least the first five minutes of the final period. Obviously, memories of his substandard World Cup for Brazil had been forgotten.

"It was great to play in the United States," Ronaldinho said. "The reception from the crowd was exceptional."

Ronaldinho did not disappoint, showcasing many of the tricks he possess. There were backheels, no-look passes, stepovers and taking on two and three defenders in tight space.

Yet, the 74th-minute breakthrough that alleviated fears of a scoreless match was a simple pass from Ronaldinho between Chivas defenders that fell onto the foot of the Chelsea castoff Eidur Gudjohnsen, who hit the left goalpost with his initial shot but secured the rebound with a left-foot shot into an open net.

Chivas fans cheered the vision and imagination of Ronaldinho in setting up the goal but, true to their colors, cheered much louder for Chivas' 83rd-minute equalizer. Adolfo Bautista struck a perfect curling cross from the right that Diego Martinez buried with a header. Chivas played with a chippy edge from the start, as evidenced by a few late tackles, in order to let Barca know it was motivated to get a result and not be part of any dog-and-pony show.

Although only a friendly, it was a can't-miss spectacle of soccer in the U.S. A concept not as far-fetched as some would like you to believe.

Man Utd Home jersey 2006-2007

Computer Science Research Generator

Computer Science is facing a major roadblock to further research. People simply have a tough time inventing research topics that sound sufficiently profound and exciting. Many PhD students waste needless years simply coming up with a thesis topic.

Good news for the Computer Science community: the problem has at last been solved.

With the help of the Research Topic Generator, The Generator is currently researching 'a conceptual watermarking database for a scalable concurrent work cluster.'

Click here to find your own Research topic

Effective 3pm Today : Your PC Has Become Obsolete!

The reality is this: Your PC is obsolete.

No, seriously. You really need to read this. Please...

I've just seen the future of processing power, and trust me, what exists today is going to be completely outdated very soon. The history of the computer industry will mark today as a new era in performance. The old CPU standard giving way to the newer, smarter and faster design.

It's Intel's fault. They got us addicted to speed and performance way back when. But now, they've come up with a PC chip with so much power. Well, it's gonna' put your old PC to shame.

Really. It's that good.
I'm talking about the all-new Intel Core 2 Duo processors, code-named "Conroe."

What's the big deal? It's a new architecture. For the first time, Intel has specifically created one unified Core architecture for all categories. All are based on Intel's Core technologies, and all three are 64-bit-capable dual-core processors with shared enhancements.

The results of this advance are astounding. Conroe will provide more computing power and use less energy. This will help laptops extend their battery life. It will also enable system builders to come out with thinner desktops and workstations, since lower energy means less heat, which results in fewer fans hogging case space.

What's more, lower power also means that the fans used will be slower, so your system will be quieter. With more PCs landing in the living room or in quiet dens, "quiet" is more important than ever.

What about in the real world? What's in it for you? Well, a lot, no matter what you do.

Here's my take: Multitasking moves to the next level. With Core 2 Duo's virtualization technology, you can turn one physical PC into several virtual systems, all running different applications and OSs! You could run an FTP server on one, a Web server on another, have a database running on a third, and still be playing a game or surfing on a fourth. This is a boon for developers who want to keep "clean" virtual machines running.

But don't take my word for it. Here's what PC Magazine Online has to say:
"Conroe is the new desktop performance champ, and the one others will be chasing around the track for quite a while. Jaw-dropping speed."



PC World says: "Exclusive PC World tests show that PCs equipped with Intel's new Core 2 Duo processors, code-named Conroe, set new high marks for desktop performance--they're the fastest we've seen by far...Both of the Intel setups bested the AMD-based system on every test in our WorldBench 5 suite as well as on every one of our gaming tests...Intel has produced a winner with its Core Duo 2 design; and for the first time in years, the company holds a clear performance advantage over its longtime rival, AMD."

FC Barcelona is coming to Town ....

Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Spanish league champions FC Barcelona start their three-game USA Tour in Los Angeles on August 6.

2003 it was Manchester United
2005 it was Real Madrid
and now its Barcalona ....i just cant wait till Aug 6th

FC Barcelona On Tour 2006 Schedule
August 6: Los Angeles, CA vs. Chivas Guadalajara
August 9: Houston, TX vs. Club América
August 12: New York, NY vs. New York Red Bulls

What Is Whisk(e)y?

Whisky (or whiskey) is the name for a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from grains and are subsequently aged in oak casks. The grains used to make various types of whisky include barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize/corn.

What Is Whisk(e)y?

In most grain growing areas a whisky or whisky-like product is produced. They differ in alcoholic content, base product and quality.

Scotch whiskies are generally distilled twice and must be aged in Scotland for at least three years in oak casks.

Irish whiskeys are generally distilled three times and must be aged for three years in oak casks.

American Straight whiskeys must be made using a mash bill that consists of at least 51% (and no more than 79%) of a single grain. Bourbon is made from at least 51% corn; straight rye is made from at least 51% rye, etc. American whiskies must be aged in new barrels made of American white oak that are charred before use.

The term Malt whisky is reserved for a whisky made from 100% malted barley; malt whisky is distilled using an onion-shaped pot still; malt whisky from one distillery is called single malt whisky to distinguish it from blended whiskies.

Grain whisky differs from malt in that it is usually made from corn/maize or other grains rather than malted barley, and distilled in continuous distillation process stills known as Coffey stills instead of the pot still used for quality whisky.

Pure pot still whiskey is a name given to Irish whiskey made from a combination of malted and unmalted barley and distilled in a pot still.

Blended whisky is the term used when whiskies of different types are mixed together. The mix is usually between malt and grain whiskies. When malt whiskies are mixed together the term vatted malt is often used.

The biggest transfer market in history has just opened

Serie A sides Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have been demoted to the second division for their involvement in Italy's match-fixing scandal.

AC Milan will stay in Serie A but will lose 15 points and will be kicked out of the Champions League.

Juventus were also stripped of their last two titles and had 30 points deducted meaning that they are almost certain to stay down for two seasons.

Lazio were penalised seven points while Fiorentina suffered a 12 point penalty.

The clubs will have three days to appeal to the Federal Court.

The FIGC (Italian football's governing body) must hand Uefa the lists of teams that will be involved in European competitions by 25 July, with Juventus, AC Milan and and Fiorentina out of the Champions League and Lazio thrown out of the Uefa Cup.

Inter, Roma, Chievo and Palermo, who finished third, fifth and seventh and eighth are all expected to be the teams taking part in next season's Champions League.

Thirteen of Italy's World Cup-winning squad play for the clubs involved, with five at Juventus, who also number Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram, David Trezeguet, Pavel Nedved and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their ranks.

The Core 2 Duo

it's been a long time coming.

Over the past year, the hype machine has been beating the drum for Intel's new processor architecture. Dubbed "Core", the new architecture is a radical shift for a company that was once the chief proponent of ramping up CPU frequency. Core 2, the first desktop product, promises to be faster than the Pentium D series and even faster than the Athlon 64 FX-62. However, those last tests weren't completely kosher, as this FX-62 was really an overclocked FX-60 running on DDR400, rather than the DDR2-based FX-62.

..... Read More at

After a long gestation period, Intel has successfully delivered on its promise of substantially faster CPUs that use significantly less power. For the near term, Core 2 looks like the must-have CPU for enthusiast and mainstream user alike.

So get out your credit cards. You want one. You know you do.

HeadButt Marco Materazzi - Zidane

Click here to headbutt Marco Materazzi yourself.

Oh Summer Summer

Temperature at my Workplace in Monrovia,California .

I am no longer a Zidane fan

"And instead of making us look back fondly on your career, you made us wonder if we should have been that adoring in the first place."

-Avi on Zinédine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi

Adidas World Cup Add -- Behind the Scene

Errors that cost Brazil the 2006 World Cup

Everyone Stand Up and Take a Bow for the Great ONE

Football journalists are a fickle bunch.

One day they will put you up on a pedestal, the next, you will be likened to a vegetable.

Take the example of Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, a 29-year-old Brazil international who has just scored his 15th World Cup goal - breaking Gerd Muller's record of 14 strikes in football's greatest tournament.

A week ago there were calls for Ronaldo to be dropped from the national team because he was unfit and overweight.

"It is hard to accept but Ronaldo definitely is not in a good condition," former Brazil international Leonardo told BBC Sport.

"Brazil have to be brave now and drop Ronaldo," added Tottenham boss Martin Jol.

Those comments were tame in comparison to those expressed back home.

"Pathetic," cried newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo and "It's a long time since I've seen someone as heavily criticised as Ronaldo," bellowed fellow paper O Globo.

But after his two goals against Japan and his record-breaking strike against Ghana, Ronaldo is back on top of the football tree.

So was the criticism ever really justified?

Coming into this World Cup, the 29-year-old said he had gone "45 days without training". Lumbering performances against Croatia and Australia, where he was substituted on both occasions, only gave hacks more excuses to sharpen their knives.

The 'Galactico' has also been labelled as a liability, having had two operations and several other injuries during his time at Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

His standing among Real fans was also at an all-time low. He scored a relatively meagre 14 goals in 23 appearances last season and revealed he felt unloved by fans.

"They have never accepted me. I'll consider that when looking at my future," he said in February.

And who can forget the newspaper frenzy of 'Ronaldogate' after the 1998 World Cup final, when he played against France after reportedly having a fit prior to kick-off?

His exploits off the pitch have also been the subject of much scrutiny.

Newspapers lapped up his four-year marriage and subsequent break up with Milene Rodrigues, before they turned their attention to model Daniella Cicarelli, who he was engaged to. And now another model, Raica Oliveira, is the subject of his and everybody else's attention.

His love for beautiful women coupled with a reported love for nightclubs is great fodder for the front pages. And many have made the effort of finding a correlation between events in his personal life and those on the pitch.

To say he is not the angel that Pele was, is true. But then Ronaldo has suffered from a greater weight of expectation, lived his life through a lens, and still come away with his reputation both intact and enhanced.
So to have scored three goals and taken Brazil into the quarter-finals is an impressive riposte. If David Beckham shoved it down throats of his critics with his goal against Ecuador then Ronaldo shoved it... well, just fill in the blanks for yourselves.

Ronaldo broke free early, flashed past Ghana's flailing goalkeeper and poked the ball into the net.

With one swift move in the fifth minute Tuesday, the superstar striker overtook German Gerd Mueller as the greatest scorer in World Cup history, spoiled Ghana's scrappy debut and put defending champion Brazil into its fourth straight quarterfinals by scoring his 15th all-time Cup goal.

"I want to continue to increase the record," Ronaldo said, "but without forgetting that the main goal in the World Cup is winning the title."

So, in the words of Brazil's Carlos Alberto Parreira - "Ronaldo is back". But then, when did 'The Phenomenon' ever go away?

"The God that people venerate does not carry a cross ,
Ask the footballing world my god carries a number "9" on his back".

-- Avinash Shetty, Ronaldo Fan for Life

My Knee Is Fixed - 6 months to go before i can start playing again

I had my ACL Knee reconstruction Surgery today and with Gods and Dr Gow's help , i had a successful surgery.

The day started very early for me ..., got up at 6 am watched Spain trash Ukraine (4-0). i was supposed to reach Kaiser hospital around 8:30 am .I left home around 7:45am , the moment after Fernando Torres from spain scored a stunner and the score was 4-0.

Reached Kaiser around 8:10 am and quickly finished all the paperwork and was in the waiting room waiting for the nurse to call my name.

Aditi and Arpitha were there with me and around 9am i heard "Shetty Avinash you are next". Nobody other than me was allowed beyond this point,i told both the girls not to wait and go home and come back around 2 pm ,doono if they did that.

Nancy (the nurse) took me to room number 5. i was told to get completely naked and wear the famous surgery gown. It took me 2 min to change and wear the gown ...but i just could not manage to tie the gown from behind ..., nancy told me it was fine and not to worry about that. She started the Glocose drip and said John would drop by and he would be the one who'll shave my leg. Before she left she asked me which leg it was and when i said "Left" she took out a marker from her top pocket and made an X mark on my left knee. i just didnt get this .

John came by a few moments later and started an electronic shaver and shaved off my left leg from my upper thigh to the ankle. John was nice and was cracking a few jokes all along the way. He asked me if he i wanted the TV . I watched "I wanna be a Millionaire" for the next half hour .

Dr Gow (the main surgon) came to visit me , asked me a few questions abt how i was feeling and what steps he was going to follow once the surgery started. He said he just finished 2 ACL reconstructions since morning and i was the third one and the previous two were perfect, if that would help.

Then came the Anasthesia specialist , and asked me for the "nth" time if i or anyone in my family was alergic to anathesia or any kind of drug for which i said NO again. "Ok Then , I'll let you have the magic liquid" and that was it , i do not remember any thing after that and when i woke up , Aditi was there next to me and it was around 2pm .


My entire body was hurting in a funny way , it was not pain but some sensation which was not comfortable.I was slurring a lot now. I then checked out my left leg which was now covered with bandages and a metal brace.

"LULU" was my nurse in the after operation room .She told me if i felt pain , to tell her so she could pump another shot of morphine .

My phone rang and it was Arijit calling from UK. He updated me with the scores which i missed. Germany won 1-0 in the last minute.

It was around 2:30 pm now and i was feeling very thirsty ,Lulu was nice and offered me Apple juice and crackers.I just had the Apple juice .I hate "CRACKERS".

"You can go home any time you feel ok " said Lulu. I rested till 4pm and left for home immediately.


Spoke to mom that evening and told her everything what had happened. Could not sleep the entire night cause i have my entire life slept on my tummy and today i could not. Took 2 pills of Vicodin (Pain Killer) which i was told to, it reduced the pain. Started playing with my Treo 600 and eventually fell asleep fighting the pain.

Finally the day was over and i am happy it went well, now its up to me how i tackle the phisiotheraphy class which i know will be very difficult.

Ronaldo gets off to slow World Cup start

Ronaldo failed to impress in Brazil's World Cup opener, looking slow and even sluggish at times during a 1-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday.

Ronaldo's weight has been the subject of controversy in the days leading up to the tournament, and his play against Croatia is sure to fuel more talk of his being out of shape.

Only three goals shy of becoming the World Cup's all-time leading scorer, Ronaldo barely touched the ball before being substituted for in the 69th minute. Despite the subpar performance, however, he had one legitimate scoring opportunity, sending a hard right-foot shot over the crossbar from 25 yards out in the 56th minute.

"Ronaldo hadn't been playing for two months ... it's natural, in a hot day like today, that he felt the lack of rhythm," Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "Certainly, from now on he will get in form little by little."

This is Ronaldo's fourth World Cup and Monday was his 100th match with Brazil. If Brazil wins a second consecutive title, Ronaldo will equal Brazil great Pele as a three-time champion. The Real Madrid striker is tied with Pele with 12 World Cup goals, one fewer than Just Fontaine of France and two fewer than Gerd Muller of Germany.

But Ronaldo faced plenty of criticism in the days before the tournament, including a query from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a video conference with the team as to whether he was fat.

Ronaldo later compared the speculation about his weight to speculation about the president's consumption of alcohol. Silva then sent a fax to Ronaldo saying his comments about his weight were meant to end speculation, not bring more attention to the subject.

Even Brazil's sports minister, Orlando Silva Junior, visited the team's training camp with message to Ronaldo saying how much the president admired him.

"Ronaldo has said in interviews he's not 100 percent, he's not in ideal form," Brazil midfielder Kaka said. "Let's hope he becomes that Ronaldo we all want to see. A little more movement from his part would have been ideal."

When he was only 17 years old, Ronaldo was a member of Brazil's squad that won the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He was crucial in Brazil's 2002 campaign, leading all players in the tournament with eight goals.

Ronaldo has said he's not worried about breaking records and only wants to help Brazil win the World Cup.

From the beginning it looked like Ronaldo was going to have a bad game. He seemed always a step behind trying to get to passes, and had difficulties controlling the ball.

He was replaced by Robinho, who many say would be a better option on attack for Brazil as it tries to win an unprecedented sixth world title.

Lets hope Ronnie comes back into form in the next match against Australia and the only way for him to stop the critics talk about his is for him to do what he does best and that's SCORE.

"The God that people venerate does not carry a cross ,
Ask the footballing world my god carries a number "9" on his back".
-- Avinash Shetty, Ronaldo Fan for Life

A BALL DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE -- BONO

England has the talent, but can it go the extra mile?

FIFA world ranking: No. 10.

How they qualified for Germany: Won UEFA Group 6 with an 8-1-1 record.

Previous World Cups and finishes: 11 appearances (1950, '54, '58, '62, '66, '70, '82, '86, '90, '98, 2002). Champions in '66, fourth place in '90, quarterfinals in '54, '62, '70, '86, '02.

Manager: Sven-Göran Eriksson, sixth and final year with team.
Key players

There's a reason England's hopes are being pinned on its attack: Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen are among the world's best strikers. The question is if they'll play. Rooney is recovering from a broken foot, and it's debatable if he'll be back at all. England isn't as dangerous without his strength, determination and ability to create goals from nothing -- especially from long range. Owen, however, looks as if he will be back from a broken foot of his own, and he's the perfect complement to Rooney: positioning, speed and lethal finishing from within the box. Midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard both boast high goal-scoring records as well as the ability to provide defense-splitting passes, while the crossing talents of captain David Beckham from the right wing are second to none.

Opposing defenders will also have to cope with England's attack-minded left flank, where Ashley Cole's overlapping runs and crosses add to the threat posed by Joe Cole's trickery.
What to watch for

England's starting XI is made up of truly world-class players which, on paper, looks like a potential tournament winner. However, the likelihood is that Rooney, the team's talisman and the player many had predicted to be the star of the World Cup, won't play. Eriksson included him on the roster anyways, hopeful that the 20-year-old may be recovered enough to help England in the latter stages of the tournament, should it advance that far.

With no obvious replacement for Rooney, England may be left somewhat toothless up front. But could being forced into a 4-5-1 formation be a blessing in disguise? In the preferred 4-4-2, the center-midfield partnership of Gerrard and Lampard brings together the two best attack-minded box-to-box midfielders in the English Premier League. But defensively, this sometimes leaves England exposed with neither Joe Cole nor Beckham likely to provide sufficient cover.

Bringing Michael Carrick into the lineup as a holding midfielder will allow Lampard and Gerrard to revert to the attacking style of play they employ in the EPL. Meanwhile, the mercurial Cole, shed of his defensive responsibilities, will be given free rein to exploit his creative genius.

In addition to his starters, Eriksson can call on three players from the bench with the strengths to create or score a late goal: the aerial threat of 6-foot-7 Peter Crouch, the pace and skill of the quick-footed Aaron Lennon and the unproven yet potentially deadly finishing of 17-year-old Theo Walcott.

England's relative fitness and stamina is difficult to discern. If Rooney returns, its chances are that much better. Will the players benefit from being accustomed to the up-tempo EPL? Or will the high number of games in the English domestic season take its toll?

Group: B (Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden).

Key match in group stage: June 20 vs. Sweden. England is expected to win all three of its group games, but historians will point out that it hasn't beaten the Swedes since 1966. The result of this match will likely decide whether England meets host Germany in the second round or in the semifinal. In the more likely latter scenario, England will get a chance to avenge its semifinal defeats in the '90 World Cup and at Euro '96.

Oddsmakers' line: 8-1.