Hard und Software » The players gathered for one last fundraise

November 14 I arrive in Auckland in the afternoon and clear immigration and customs, but before I can set foot outside, I go through the now-standard procedure of being robbed at the airport. I blame mobile-phone companies.There used to be specialised SIM card booths in many airports, with cheerful staff who would set up your phone with the exact plan you required, while self-sacrificially listening your complaints about the flight. Increasingly, these outlets are disappearing. Now you are made to personally navigate a system in which the customer is set up to fail.This time I buy myself a SIM and NZ$20 worth of credit with a view to getting a $19 plan, but as soon as I load the credit into the phone, all my emails and messages come through in a torrent. When I try to buy the plan - maybe 30 seconds later - I am told I have already spent too much. I am forced to spend another $20 on credit (the minimum amount), and have effectively forked out $40 for $19 of value.I guess you could argue that I should have turned off my mobile data before loading the credit. But look, I am not arguing that I am not a doofus. The point is that the mobile companies intentionally prey on doofuses such as myself and, I think we can all agree, this makes them terrible people.November 15 Next morning, back at the airport, I am reminded of how charmingly intimate and considerate a country New Zealand is. As I await my flight to Christchurch, a Ms Schultz is summoned to her boarding gate no fewer than four times. The last of these announcements ends with: …the other passengers have boarded and are waiting for you. You can almost imagine the whole plane staring expectantly at the door, then breaking out in huge cheers and high fives when she strides in triumphantly.A little later, the announcer suggests - in the politest tone - that a mother who has misplaced a young daughter please pick her up from the check-in counter. Off to the left, two airline staff are joyfully posing for selfies with tourists, even though these are the kind of people who, as a rule, are unsatisfied with the first two dozen versions of any photograph.Then, just as I am about to board, a Mr Barry is helpfully told over the speaker system that he is walking around with his fly undone.Okay, that last one didnt happen, but Im certain that, at some point, it must have.November 16 A violent earthquake hit North Canterbury in the days before I arrived. Although Christchurch has been spared this time, people in towns further north have been cut off by landslides, and damage to roads. On the radio, the presenter is sympathetically interviewing one of the victims, whose tiny town lies between two of the larger landslides. Are your family okay? she asks him. How worried are you about aftershocks? Has there been damage to your house? He gives five-word answers to each of these, but is more effusive when she asks how he is doing for supplies. Aww, well, we havent been able ta get to the shops since bloody Thursday, aye? Were runnin outta beer and wine, so Id say thats definitely a concern.November 17 The Hagley Oval press area is not a box or room - it is a tent perched halfway up a grass bank. Its a wonderful place from which to cover a match when its sunny, but a challenge when its cold. On this rained-out first day of the series, an icy southerly rattles the metal framework and whips up the plastic sheets around us.A lot is made of the courage and commitment of cricketers, who put their bodies on the line for their craft; who live with discipline, and pursue dreams with unwavering will. I, for one, think cricket writers are no less worthy of adulation. My fingers have become numb by afternoon but nevertheless I gather up my resolve and heroically pass on weather updates to my colleagues on ball-by-ball commentary. Steadfastly do I remain in this battered press tent all day, though the carrot cake we are served for tea is slightly drier than is ideal.November 19 The hotel I am staying at has one of those signs encouraging patrons to reuse towels in order to reduce the hotels impact on the environment. The idea that hotels care about the earth is, of course, complete crap - they merely want to cut down on bills. Many hotels would set fire to polar bear cubs if it turned them a profit. Still, I dont mind reusing towels, so I put mine back on the rack every day, only to find upon my return that that all towels have been replaced, in contravention of their own policy. Not only that, even the barely used shampoo bottles and soaps have been thrown out, and new ones put in their place. One morning I break open a tissue box and use just one sheet, then find a brand new box on the table when I return. I begin to wonder if I was actually sleeping in the same bed every day, or if these people were throwing it out daily and putting a brand-new one in its place.November 20 Sri Lankan friends in Christchurch kindly have me over to dinner, and I feast enthusiastically on idi appa, pol sambol and a dark chicken curry. They are fairly recent immigrants to New Zealand and are still figuring out the lay of their new land.Since coming here, we have learned to say yes straight away when visiting peoples houses, they tell me.What do you mean? I ask.Well, in Sri Lanka, when you are a guest, its polite to refuse the first offer of a meal or a cup of tea. Only when they insist are you supposed to agree.Sure, and here?Here, if you say no, thats it. They wont offer you again. If you refuse it, you dont get to bloody eat.November 22 New Zealand is almost too good to be a real country. It has its issues, of course, but there are no major ethnic tensions (not in comparison to most countries, at least) and no obvious signs of public unrest. It has a stable and trusted government (again, by global standards), and its national icon is a fittingly inoffensive animal. Sometimes its so perfect, its infuriating. This is my third trip around the country in as many years, and the breathtaking scenery keeps rolling by without relent. I am flying over north Canterbury - not an area especially reputed for its beauty - yet here lie these annoyingly gorgeous mountain ridges, all ruggedly serrated, while below, smug cords of captivating blue water wrap around the hills like ribbons on a present. The Pacific Ocean glints obnoxiously in the distance.It just doesnt seem fair.November 23 Over the past two decades it has become very cool to hate on Hamilton. Coffee-shop hipsters in Wellington will talk about how chlamydia is an airborne disease there, and how the Waikato river brings farming effluent through the middle of town (not true). Comedians will poke fun at Hamiltonians on TV, and Aucklanders heading south will say they take detours just to avoid going near the city.I come to Hamilton hoping to rise above all this snarky criticism, intent on seeing it with fresh eyes. Perhaps I would discover something truly wonderful and unique, I think. But when I arrive, I learn there is no Uber in the city, nor any other ride-hailing system. Cabs are not common, and locals tell me not to bother with public transport. Even backward Sri Lankan towns have this. Instead of tracking the cab on my phone like a reasonable person, I have to stand on a street corner waiting for it for ages, like some kind of Neanderthal.Sometimes, Hamilton, you do have to help yourself.(For any Hamilton residents reading this - my hometown is Dehiwala, and if you want to rip it apart in the comments, I guess that is only fair.) November 27 Mohammad Amir comes to the post-play press conference - quite unexpectedly, as most journalists thought he was still off limits since his return from suspension. He understands our English but is more comfortable answering in Urdu, and he chuckles when asked about all the catches that have been dropped off his bowling.All the journalists behave themselves. No spiky questions about his suspension are asked. When he leaves, the Kiwi journalists dont miss the chance to malign their Australian counterparts, who, it is thought, will give Amir a very different reception.Wait till Pakistan get over there, says one reporter. Theyll get some different questions there.Aww maayte, says another in a mock Aussie accent, imitating a journalists question. Do you really theenk you deserve to be hee after what youve done?November 29 The first Test I ever covered was in Hamilton, in 2009. I stayed too long in the press box one evening and managed to get myself locked in the stadium. I had to climb over a fence to get out, and in the process, dropped and damaged my laptop.I realise now, that it had been a training run for this Test, when again, I stay too long and get myself locked in. This time, with a much more expensive laptop, I climb the same fence, but carefully avoid the old mistake - dropping gingerly down onto the pavement, to go wait on the corner for my taxi for what seems like an hour. Jose Bautista Blue Jays Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Jacob Waguespack Jersey https://www.cheapbluejays.com/2226h-r-a-dickey-jersey-blue-jays.html . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Tim Mayza Blue Jays Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Tony Fernandez Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city.MONTREAL -- Quebec has found a place to play soccer on the international stage, but it is not in a World Cup or any other event with national teams. A group of 18 players patched together and coached by former Montreal Impact player Patrick Leduc will begin play Sunday in the International Tournament of Peoples and Cultures in Marseille, France. The week-long event has teams from provinces and regions that are not independent --although some wish to be -- but feel unique enough to have their own teams. The other squads are from Tibet, Iraqi Kurdistan, Aram in Syria, Western Sahara, the northern Indian regions of Ladahk and Nagaland and the host French region of Provence. "Its the first time that a senior male team (from Quebec) will play at the international level," said Yannick Saint-Germain, president of the team that calls itself Les Quebecois. "We have under-14 or under-16 teams that have played against France or Mexico, but as seniors, its the first time. "Its an historical moment for us, and I hope it wont be the last tournament for us." Leduc scrambled to find players whose clubs were willing to release them in mid-season and ended up with some decent talent in former Impact players Reda Agourram, Alex Suprenant and Kevin Cossette, former FC Edmonton member Fabrice Lassonde and others. Sovereigntists in Quebec have pushed for a "national" hockey team to play against Canada and other countries, but it has never come close to happening. Saint-Germain turned to soccer, where there is an international body called the Non-Federated Board overseeing soccer among cultures and regions that are not members of the sports world governing body FIFA. He attended the Viva World Cup, or non-FIFA world cup, last year in Kurdistan. Now he hopes to enter the Quebec team in next years tournament in Lapland. "Im not the only one who has dreamed of having a national team in hockey or soccer or any sport," said St-Germain. "Many people think about it. "I wanted to see if it was feasible. I Googled to see if there were other non-independent states with national teams and I discovered theres a lot." Zanzibar, and island off the coast of Tanzania in east Africa, for example. Or North Cyprus, which lost to Kurdistan in last years non-FIFA World Cup final. Saint-Germain and Leduc said the teams mission is cultural rather than political, but Quebecs independence movement is solidly behind it. The team is partly funded by the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois government and has backing from the ultra-nationalist St-Jean-Baptiste Society. The schedule includes a game against Tibet on June 24, Quebecs national holiday. "There are a lot of non-independent nations that play internationally in their confederations, like Puerto Rico, for example," said Saint-Germain. "As I say, football independence has nothing to do with political independence. "Its two different things. Of course people who are for the independence of Quebec are very happy about this project, and I understand that, but theres no relation. You can be a province and play. Ontario or New Brunswick could play, why not?" Leduc said the team haas not taken a political position.dddddddddddd "We didnt base our selection on whether you vote for the Parti Quebecois or the Liberals," he said. "I have francophones, anglophones, allophones, but I only wanted to know if they were forward, midfielder or defender. "Ive realized also that whether they vote blue or red, it doesnt matter. Theyre proud to represent Quebec. A 25-year-old player is really happy to be part of a select team and to play at the elite level once again in his career." It was a proud moment to put on the blue and white shirt with the fleur-de-lys on the front for Cossette, who plays semipro in Quebec City. "At 16, I played for Quebec in a Canadian championship, but to represent it at the senior level and to play with the best in Quebec is a source of pride," he said. "Im completely a Quebecer. "I have no other nationality." Tommy Lucas, the bilingual former captain of the McGill Redmen, has no problem with it. "Its my home and its always been my home," he said. "My parents are from England but I was born here. "Especially Montreal, this is where I belong. Im excited to represent Quebec. I feel a strong sense of pride and thats definitely going to help me perform during the tournament." The team is not sanctioned by the Quebec Soccer Federation, which was in the spotlight last week for its controversial decision to ban turbans and other religious headgear, only to rescind the order when FIFA clarified its rules. The QSF is affiliated with FIFA through the Canadian Soccer Association. Leduc said they approached the federation for support and found them "ambivalent. "In future, maybe long term, wed like to be sanctioned by the federation and play official games, whether it be against teams like Catalonia or other regions, or official games. Haiti is coming here this summer, so why not have a Quebec team play them?" The players gathered for one last fundraiser Tuesday night at a bistro called Massila, the ancient name for Marseille, which was designated by the European Union as European Capital of Culture for 2013. They held their first practice later that night. They wont have much of a budget. The trip will cost about $40,000, with the team staying in a university dorm and getting around on public transit. But they hope to do well on the pitch, even if they have no idea of the level of play of most opponents. "I expect varying levels," said Leduc. "I expect Provence will be a tough game. "Kurdistan I know will be a really tough team, but I dont know how strong Tibet will be. Its fun that theyre participating." It will be a grind. Quebec opens with games on consecutive days against Western Sahara, Tibet and Provence. The semifinals are on June 27 with the final the following day. There are consolation games for those that dont make the semis. They are entering the unknown, but Agourram was adamant it is not vacation and they will give their best on the pitch. "We know nothing about the teams were going to play against, but I think we have a good team and Im confident well have good results," he said. ' ' '