An Ugly Conspiracy Turns Sinister Politics in Sports



It is a conspiracy. Monika Devi, one of the best weightlifters of the world has missed the Beijing Olympics. The episode is a humiliating chapter in the sports history.

Monika was intentionally and forcefully withdrawn from the Indian squad hours before she was to board the flight to Beijing for failing a dope test. Later it was announced that she was cleared of charges by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). To her dismay, she was not allowed to participate in the Olympics.

Who will make her losses? It is four years of dedication, hard work and perseverance that has been washed away by an alleged doping charge. The culprits must be find out and punished legally for assassinating the character and career of Monika Devi. They must also paid huge compensation to her.

Well, the Beijing Olympics is now a history and several records were made to be broken again at the 2012 London Olympics. India is happy this time with 3 Olympic medals. India has won a first ever gold in an individual event along with two bronze medals. It is improving now. But how will Indian sports shine when there are controversies, conspiracy and nepotism?

Monika episode is an eye opener to the ugly policies of the sport officials who are enjoying lavish lifestyles, drawing huge salaries from the government for the sake of promoting sports in the country. It is a conspiracy between the officials and players. This happens everywhere in the world. However, there must be some ways to deal with such dirty bureaucrats. Politicizing the Monika issue will be a wrong step. If the people do not react and agitated in a correct direction, it will end as a blame game, never to give justice to her.

Monika Devi, a Manipur born and wedded to a non Manipuri weightlifting coach, Santosh Kumar should clearly understand the situation she is facing now. She cannot kill her sporting career by politicizing the controversial issues; she should realize herself as one of the bright prospects for Indian sports in coming years. It is unwise for her to engage herself in the probe for truth. She should not forget the ethics, discipline and sportsmanship of a player. Let her husband whole heartedly fight to deliver justice to his Meetei wife. He might know how to deal with those Indian officials in Delhi.

It is absurd to call general strikes in Manipur state, any form of mass protests and burning the effigies of the Chief Minister of Manipur and other Political leaders of India. The Monika case is not a political issue; rather it is a personal matter between the officials and Monika. No political parties or leaders can solve her case. Instead of getting justice, the player might end her sporting career.

This is a battle where she will fight alone in a true sportsmanship. She should show to the world, the Chinese opponents or the Ukrainian player that she is not a failure. She should be ready to challenge them in other International championships again. It’s a false pride for her to proclaim that she might win a medal in the Beijing Olympics.

Currently Monika is 15th in the World ranking. Her record lift is just 235 kg in International competition. This is way behind the Bronze winning lift of 250 kg by the Ukrainian lifter, Natalya Davydova. It is wrong to underestimate the opponent player without participating in the competition. Be prepared, work harder, fight and proudly stand in the winning podium. Such ” I Might Do” words are often heard from Indian politicians, it is better she should stay away from politics and their political rhetoric.

It is sports that give Monika a Havildar post in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a good non Manipuri husband. She has no right to blame the Indian. She should have national feeling and pride. Will she able to severe her relationship with Santosh, an Indian? Not possible. It was the Army Chief JJ Singh who feted her for the silver medal in Melbourne Commonwealth Games with a cash award of Rs 75,000.

It is sad that people of Manipur seems to forget what is the value of sports in their life. After agriculture, sports are another avenue for job. 80% of Manipuri working in Central government departments are through sports quota. It is through sports that the Manipuri race is known by the International community.

Today, politics find a way into the sports in Manipur. A conspiracy to stop Monika from participating the Olympics has become a political issue. It has a negative impact on the minds of players in the state. Mass protest rallies were organized by players from different localities of the state. Some have decided not to participate in International and National sports competition. Why such politics in sports? Will Monika get justice with their decision of boycotting the competition? Who are the losers? It is not India which will lose; rather it is the players whose dream of becoming an International player that has been at the receiving ends.

Instead of boycotting the national championships and National Games, every player from Manipur should support Monika. They should wear a black badge as a sign of protesting the corrupt sports officials in India. Play well and achieve victory. Keep on protesting till Monika get justice.

There is no way a Manipuri player can participate in any International championship representing as a separate region. It is correct to record that Indian sports are dominated almost by Manipuri players. But not at the International level. Except Mary Kom – the Women Boxer, none of the state player has record breaking performances. Most of them are one time lucky who cannot repeat their performances better in their next participations. Manipur sports policy should be reformed before considering of a separate team in any international championship.

The Monika issue is so burning and agitating in the state of Manipur, there were no welcome celebrations for two state Olympians – Laishram Bombayla Devi and Khumukcham Tombi Devi. It is a great feat for the people of Manipur that out of the 57 players, two are from the state. There is no celebration for the recipient of Arjuna award winner for 2007, Khumukcham Tombi Devi too.

What will Monika do now? Will she keep on fighting the officials, or concentrate on her game as a true sportsmanship? She must practice harder and cautious enough to get rid of her enemy. There is no use of boycotting and running away from the game, she should prove her best. If she thinks the Indian sports officials are doing injustice to her, think of playing for Manipur, representing some other nations.

For instance, she can approach the New Zealand government organization for granting resident visa to talented people with sports at International level. Alternatively, she can start training young players for future. She should never think of politics in games and sports. The primary goal of every player is to display better social values such as sportsmanship, on and off the court. Always remember the motto “Citius, Altius, Fortius.”

DirecTV Sports Package – How Does it Compare to the Dish Network Sports Package?



First of all, if you want to watch sports with the DirecTV sports package, you would have to start with their 150+ channels package. This has the basic cable channels that will show some sports, like TNT, TBS, and USA. Sports channels like NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN News are also included (ESPN Classic comes with the 200+ channels package as does your regional Fox Sports Net channel). Then, if you want even more sports you should get the Sports Pack. Extra premiums like a pay movie channel or the Sports Pack start at $12 but it could be a bit less if you order more premium packages.

This package has everything the sports lover craves. You will get more NBA games with NBA TV, horse racing action, ESPNU, CBS College Sports and all the regions of FSN (although some MLB and possibly other games will be blacked due to broadcasting rights agreements). For soccer lovers (I know, if you want to watch soccer you have to spend more since it’s not too popular in the U.S.) there is the Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV and, importantly for some, Fox Sports En Espanol. You can also order Setanta Sports for a lot more soccer, rugby and a few others sports for $15 a month though I will not use that in my calculation as I will assume most readers will not buy it. So, using the DirecTV 220+ channels package and the Direct TV sports package, if you got all of this it would cost about $51 every month to get all the sports you want. It would cost five dollars less if you do not care to watch ESPN Classic.

As for the Dish Network Sports Package, it is more or less the same but with a few different variables. With Dish Network, you just get more sports channels the more channels you get. With the Top 100 package you will get ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News and the other basic channels that show some sports like TNT, etc. Next, the Top 200 package gives you a lot more like ESPN Classic, NFL Network, all the Comcast Sports and FSN channels, the Big Ten Network and basically everything you would get in the Sports Pack minus the soccer channels.

If you want the Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV, you will have have to get the Top 250 and if you absolutely wanted Fox Sports en Espanol you could only get it by adding a Spanish channels package for $13 a month (you can also add Setanta Sports for the same price as DirecTV). So, basically if you want all the sports you can get with the Top 250, it is going to cost you about $55 for that package. Alternatively, you could just get the Top 100 and get the Dish Network Multi-sport Pack (lots of sports for $6 a month, which is the only way to get NBA TV outside of getting a special NBA package). So you see there are ways the Dish Network Sports Package can be more or less than DirecTV depending on what you want.

So, should you get the DirecTV sports package or the Dish Networks sports package? It’s really up to you. If you want all of everything, DirecTV is $4 cheaper. There are many sports channels these days, and each provider has just a couple channels that the other will not have, and they each put some channels at different levels of their packages. You have to decide what sports you want to watch the most and if you decide on price you have to do the comparisons yourself. There are a lot of variables involved with everyone’s different tastes but I hope I have you a good overview to help you in making your decision.

Direct TV and Sports – Hand in Hand for the Sports Fan



Direct TV allows you, the sports fan to get all of the coverage that you need and must have as quickly, as clearly and as cost effectively as possible. The sports fan will find that Direct TV offers a number of unique opportunities for you to choose from for your needs and comfort. If you are looking for an opportunity to finally get to sit down, turn on the television and know that there is a great game on that you can watch, no matter what time it is, you need to consider these subscription options.

A number of specific sports subscriptions are offered by Direct TV. This includes NFL, NBA, NASCAR, and MLB. It also provides you with coverage of college football and college basketball. Enjoy soccer subscriptions, cricket, rugby and other options too, including blackout games. Each subscription allows you to get the programming you want and need without paying for what you do not want.

The NFL Sunday Ticket is one option you have through Direct TV alone. NFL Sunday Ticket allows you to gain access to your favorite team’s games, no matter where you are located. In fact, you can catch several games if you like. This programming option allows you access up to 14 games of play every Sunday during the football season. Cable generally offers about four. In addition, you take advantage of over 200 games played, the player tracker (perfect for those that are fantasy football fans) and enhanced games. Highlights on Demand are another feature offered.

To this programming choice, you can add SuperFan. That allows you to gain access to Direct TV Supercast on your computer. If you have Direct TV HD programming, SuperFan gives you up to 12 NFL games broadcast to you in high definition, as well as 8 games on 1 screen with Game Mix and Red Zone Chanel. Any football fan will enjoy all that Direct TV’s NFL package can offer.

For NASCAR fans, you too get to take advantage of special programs for your sport. NASCAR HotPass is the perfect choice. This means four driver channels in HD, which pin their focus on the top drivers every week. This also provides you with 28 cameras and dedicated announcers for each of the drivers. You get enhanced audio, in addition, which is live two way audition coming in between the driver and the crew chief. This is the best way to get a behind the scenes look at what really happens. Because NASCAR is in high definition, you get the quality picture that you have been looking for with all of the details you have never seen before.

There is a wide variety of sports programming on Direct TV. From your big 5 (football, basketball, baseball, hockey and NASCAR) all the way to cricket and golf, I have never had a lack of competitive distractions. The satellite providers go into even more exclusive options with both the NFL Network and NHL Network. These channels offer in depth analysis and replays of historic games.

Direct TV is the sports fan’s largest fan. The company works hard to provide you with the best programming options out there, no matter what your sports are or where your team is broadcast. Program options are available through a number of different subscriptions. Be sure to find out what is available in your area and how to sign up. The process is simple and once you see your favorite receiver catch that touchdown pass in high definition, you will never go back to regular television again.