Category Archives: Immortality

Photography#birds#boats#India#religion#rivers

All images Sankar Sridhar, shared with permission

When Dehli-based photographer Sankar Sridhar visits the Yamuna River in winter, he observes hundreds of gulls, terns, and other birds as they flock to the Ganges tributary that flows through the Indian city. Despite the rivers inability to maintain a thriving ecosystem in that stretch, the avians are spurred by site fidelity as they migrate each year, a ritualistic act Sridhar recently captured in a series titled Long Live the River.

Because the tributary attracts such an influx of avians, its also a site of religiosity and legend. People travel to the water to feed the birds, an act thought to bring good karma, and disperse offerings for their loved ones whove died. My approach to documenting life along a small stretch of this river was driven by the deep connection of rivers and life and divinity in Hindu texts, mythology, and legend. The fact that the Yamuna is considered the only river with the power to grant immortality to humans seemed an irony that could not be overlooked, the photographer says.

Fifteen drains of untreated wastewater from household, municipal, and industrial sources flow into the tributary, saturating it with chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, and garbage that eliminate aquatic life. However, Sridhar notes that in 2017, officials recorded 24 bird species residing in the rivers wetlands. This finding came as a surprise, given the greatly degraded water quality of the Yamuna, he says.

Using a low shutter speed, Sridhar captures the annual rituals through clouds of Dehlis thick smog, blurring the flying creatures as they swoop over the water. The obscured visitors mar clear shots of boats and the horizons as they appear to linger above the water in shadowy flocks. I aimed to impart a surreal touch to the images by using the boats as the fabled transport into the afterlife while flight-paths of the birds as metaphors as much for the souls of the dead as the mad chaos in our world that blinds us to the damage we do to the environment, he says. Throughout, though, the river remains a giver of life, despite having the life sucked out of her.

An avid outdoor photographer, Sridhar shares his projects focused on Himalayan landscapes and local communities on Behance and Instagram.

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Through a Blur of Migratory Birds, Photographer Sankar Sridhar Captures the Rituals of the Yamuna River - Colossal

VANCOUVER, BC - JULY 05: Carli Lloyd of USA celebrates scoring her third goal from the halfway line ... [+] during the FIFA Women's World Cup Final between USA and Japan at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Stuart Franklin - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

My goal since the beginning was to become the most complete player in the game.It is up to other people to formulate their own opinion of me" the words of Carli Anne Lloyd, a double World Champion, a double Olympic champion and a double World Player of the Year. A minor knee injury has ruled her out of the ongoing NWSL Challenge Cup but approaching her 38th birthday, Lloyd has no desire to rest on her laurels.

Five years ago today in Vancouver she scaled heights of achievement unparalleled in the sport. Within 15 minutes, 5 seconds of the World Cup Final, Lloyd had scored a hat-trick which not only destroyed her Japanese opponents and secured the United States their third world title but secured her immortality in the history of the game's greatest showpiece.

The third goal, a shot from the center line, left commentators and fans gasping for superlatives. After two unsuccessful World Cup campaigns, Lloyd now had the only international medal missing from her collection. For most players there would be nothing left to achieve in the game but for Lloyd there is always another challenge. "People approach me all the time about that game and always bring up the long-distance goal I scored", she admits "but I try not to think about that game too often because Im still playing and want to focus on what is coming up next while continuing to build the best possible version of myself.

Four years earlier, it couldn't have been more different. Against the same opponents in the 2011 World Cup final, Lloyd was one of three United States players to miss their spot-kick in a shoot-out defeat. Speaking on the eve of the 2015 tournament, Lloyd admitted that experience was "a really tough thing to go through. It's tough, but I think that builds character. There's nothing I want more than to go to Canada this summer and hold that trophy".

USA's midfielder Carli Lloyd reacts after missing a penalty during the FIFA Women's Football World ... [+] Cup final match Japan vs USA on July 17, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. Japan won 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out after the final had finished 2-2 following extra-time. AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALL (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)

After an indifferent start to the 2015 World Cup in Canada, Lloyd had failed to score. In the group stages of the World Cup, I knew I could be better and our team knew it could be better.I was playing in a more reserved defensive role and once I was moved to the attacking midfielder position it enabled me to create and play with more freedom and help my team in a more effective way.Fitness played a part in it but so did my determination to maintain my spot as a pure attacking midfielder".

In her 2016 book "When Nobody Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey To The Top Of The Soccer World", a New York Times Bestseller, Lloyd admits to dealing with the challenge by "going back to work. By working when nobody is watching, and then working some more". Five years on, she believes that unquenchable desire to improve still pushes her. "From day one, the goal is to keep adding layer of improvements with each day and this is what fuels me to keep going".

The move into her more natural position yielded startling dividends. Lloyd scored in successive knockout games against Colombia, China and Germany, to score again in the final would be an unprecedented achievement in the history of soccer.

There, the United States would remarkably face the Japanese again, the two had also contested the 2012 Olympic final, with Lloyd scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory. There was never any chance she would allow this World Cup final to be decided in a penalty shoot-out lottery. My only goal was to help my team win a World Cup" she recalls. "There was so much riding on that game, and I remember us all feeling ready and charged up!"

Within five minutes, Lloyd had scored twice from almost identical set-piece moves, on both occasions anticipating the play in the crowded Japanese goal-mouth as if predestined to score. "The first two goals were the result of being in the zone. My mind was ready, I was on my toes and anticipated where the ball was going to go and let my instincts do the rest".

Lauren Holiday added a third goal before Lloyd's strike for the ages made it 4-0 with barely a quarter of an hour on the clock. "After I scored the third goal, I remember being in a huddle with my team-mates celebrating. The feeling was incredible. It was like we knew we were going to be world champions".

The USA's Carli Lloyd (C) celebrates a goal with teammates during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup ... [+] final between the US and Japan at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO/NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

The remaining 75 minutes turned into a coronation party for the American fans in the sold-out crowd. The final winning margin of 5-2 is the most decisive in the history of any World Cup. Lloyd remembers that the 2015 World Cup Final was very special to me for a number of different reasons. I felt rewarded for all the hard work I had put in and it stands out in terms of how good our team really was on the day".

Lloyd and her world champion team-mates should now be preparing to win the Olympic soccer tournament in Japan but the postponement of the Tokyo Games until 2021 means the Sky Blue midfielder will be a week past her 39th birthday when the first match is played. Already a double Olympic champion, Lloyd is undeterred, viewing the break as an opportunity gained rather than lost. "Having the Olympics postponed for another year is giving our team more time to learn from Vlatko (Andonovski). Personally, it has given me the opportunity to tweak my training program and get ready for the year ahead".

The opportunity to join former team-mates Christine Rampone, Heather Mitts, Heather O'Reilly and Shannon Boxx as a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist is there for a player who continues to drive herself relentlessly in her pursuit of greatness. "I just want to be remembered as a player that never gave up on her dream and proved that with hard work, sacrifice and dedication anything is possible. I want young players around the world to be inspired by my journey".

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Carli Lloyd: I Want Young Players To Be Inspired By My Journey - Forbes

Weve got all heard of a contemporary world. This world will have flying cars and trains, and even buildings as high as the skies. We would even have floating towns! What will the human race do should they eventually figure out immortality using technologies?

Altered Carbon paints a beautiful image of exactly what a technological future would look like. It reveals the upsides and drawbacks to modern technology and tells you that the future may be innovative but you may not enjoy it!

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This itself garnered half the press attention that the series received. Using technology and machines, the fast-paced activity sequences along with the mystery of some unsolvable crimes make the fans completely addicted to the show.

Altered Carbon is an American cyberpunk net collection. Its a version of a novel by Richard Morgan. Its a Netflix original show, making Netflix the key show distributor.

The very first installation consisted of 10 episodes. The show was revived for another year with eight episodes on 27th July 2018.

The series revolves around Takeshi Kovacs. He is a trained mercenary who works for the Protectorate, a galactic security organization. Takeshi has a traumatic past and the only family hes left is his sister Reileen.

Technology allows humans to store their whole memory in electric discs calledstacks, and its the essence of living. If you damage your pile, you are dead for good. If your system is damaged, you can attach your heap into another body. They call the entire bodies assleeves.

Takeshi is set from sleeve to sleeve, used by different people for their particular purposes. On his trip, he meets Quellcrist Falconer, the leader of this rebellion against immortality. He falls in love with her and aligns himself with her cause.

The narrative proceeds across two seasons with death, loss, and a lot of time jumps. You may not be able to decode the true story till the finish and that adds allure into the narrative.

The Attractiveness of Altered Carbon is that numerous actors have played the same role:Joel Kinnaman, Anthony Mackie and Ray Chase as Takeshi KovacsJames Purefoy as Laurens BancroftMartha Higareda as Kristin OrtegaChris Conner as Edgar PoeDichen Lachman and Elizabeth Maxwell as Reileen Kawahara/GinaAto Essandoh as Vernon ElliotKristin Lehman as Miriam Bancroft and Naomi BancroftTrieu Tran as Mister Leung/ GhostwalkerRenee Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist FalconerLela Loren as Danica HarlanSimone Missick as TreppDina Shihabi as Dig 301Torben Liebrecht as Jaeger/ Ivan Carrera

No official cast list was released for the upcoming season. But it will be fun to see what a brand new cast member brings to the table.

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Altered Carbon Season 3 : Release Date, Cast, Plot And Other News - Auto Freak

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New Delhi: The newly-formed Madhya Pradesh cabinet signals the Congressisation of the BJP, ThePrints editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta said in episode 512 of Cut The Clutter.

An analysis of the cabinet, and where the loyalty of its members lie, shows that MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been cut to size. In fact, he has been rendered a lame duck whos also been kneecapped.

Fourteen of the 33 cabinet members are former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindias loyalists; they had defected to the BJP with Scindia back in March. This means more than 40 per cent of the people, who arent even members of the House yet, have been made ministers.

Three others are loyalists of BJPs Narottam Mishra while three are loyalists of the partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya. This leaves just 13 ministers who are actually CM Chouhans loyalists, which means he has very little space to do or say anything.

But it isnt just Madhya Pradesh which is showing these signs. Of the 17-NDA ruled states, BJP has its chief ministers in 12, but a closer look reveals a slow move towards a complete Congressisation of the BJP.

For one, this indicates the rise of a high-command culture in the BJP, just like that of the Congress. Only one person or a couple of people own that high command space similar to how the Congress is presently run by just a few people, such as Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

This also shows that the BJP now has very weak CMs as well as cabinet ministers. This is because all the power within the party emanates from one source.

One of the main reasons why Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power with such a resounding mandate in 2014 was due to the fact that the BJP had built very strong Chief Ministers who could always swing elections in their states for him. But six of these strong CMs are nowhere to be seen now.

Former Rajasthan CM Vasundra Raje is out of power as is former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh.

Gujarat had Narendra Modi as its powerful vote-catching CM, but his shift to Delhi moved that power with him. In Maharashtra, Nitin Gadkari, who could swing elections single-handedly, has now been sidelined.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan has also been sidelined, cut to size and rendered powerless despite being the CM.

On Wednesday, at the swearing-in ceremony, he cryptically commented that amrit (nectar of immortality) comes out of the churning of the ocean as Shiva consumes vish (poison), in whatmay be a metaphorical reference to himself.

Other BJP-ruled states signal a similar trend. The formula of keeping your chief minister reduced to a nobody who gets instructions from Delhi for anything he wants to do is being repeated in all the states.

For instance, Assams CM Sarbananda Sonowal is seen to have very little power. In fact, it is the Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who is considered the face of the Assam government. He is also seen as the face of the BJP in all of the Northeast. He won the Northeast for the BJP.

In Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar has had to share power with his deputy and JJP leader Dushyant Singh Chuatala, after the two parties were forced to form a coalition government. Cabinet minister Anil Vij too occupies a very important, powerful position in the state government.

In Gujarat, CM Vijay Rupani is remote-controlled from New Delhi, which is a well-known fact.

Manipur CM Biren Singh was forced to restore the portfolios of his deputy CM, National Peoples Party leader Y. Joykumar Singh, as part of the understanding reached between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the NPP delegation led by its national president and CM of neighbouring Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma.

This means that while Singh may be the CM, the real authority and power lies with the high command in Delhi.

In Karnataka, B.S. Yediyurappas authority has been undermined time and again, most recently when none of his Rajya Sabha nominees were selected by the party high command, which instead backed those of Yediyurappas rival, B.L. Santosh.

The one exception to this rule is Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. He was seen as a political lightweight with no real following of his own. But the fact is that the way Adityanath has conducted himself has not only made him more of a Hindutva brand ambassador but also a brand ambassador for Modi and Shah. He wasnt chosen to be an exception, but just turned out to be one.

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Madhya Pradeshs new cabinet shows that a slow Congressisation of the BJP is happening - ThePrint

In Batman Beyond, Bruce Wayne must use his modified Lazarus Pit in order to save his son's life after a failed assassination attempt.

When it comes to family, its hard to not follow in their footsteps regardless if you want to or not. In Batman Beyond #44, former leader of the League of Assassins Damian Wayne follows in the footsteps of his grandfather Ra's as he uses a Lazarus Pit in order to escape death. The real kicker is that it's a Lazarus Pit owned by his father, Ra's persistent nemesis Bruce Wayne.

Created by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert, the genetically-engineered son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul spent his childhood raised by the League of Assassins as he was groomed to either inherit his father or grandfather's empires. Choosing to rebel against these predestined plans, he chose to stay with his father and became the newest Robin. This new identity and the responsibilities that came with would clash with Damian's personality and temper but in the end, it helped him become a better person. Throughout his career, different possibletimelineswere shown of Damian inheriting the mantle of Batman from his father or in this instance, in a world where Bruce retired and eventually let the mantle of Batman be succeeded by Terry McGinnis, he became the new Ra's Al Ghul and commanded the League of Assassins. Although Terry and Damian's last interaction didn't end on the best of terms, Terry's return to his role as Batman is interrupted by the appearance of Goliath, Damian's pet bodyguard, who leads him through Neo-Gotham to find Damian's tattered and unconscious body at death's door.

RELATED:DC's Most EVIL Version of Batman Beyond Has Arrived

As Terry and Goliath fly through Neo-Gotham while alerting Bruce of their situation, they are interrupted by the League of Assassins eager to finish the job their leader, the mysterious Mr. Zero, had failed to do when he usurped Damian from his current title. As they are unsuccessful, Terry and company are able to get to the current Batman headquarters where Damian is placed in a recovery pod whose rejuvenation powers and design look a little too familiar. When Terry comments on it, Bruce reveals that the pod is his own interpretation of Ra's famous Lazarus Pit, the ooze responsible for Ra's iconic longevity, and that it should heal Damian so they can find out who wants him dead and why.

Comic book characters escaping near death situations isn't news and it hasn't been the first time that Damian has almost or actually died but the real surprise is at the revelation that Bruce Wayne technically owns a Lazarus Pit. Having seen firsthand the power of the Pit and the price those who use it pay for their "immortality", it feels like Bruce justified crossing a line that could end up being a slippery slope all for Bruce's crusade against crime and evil. Although Bruce claims to have borrowed some of the elements from the Pit, he clearly hasn't tweaked the madness that overcomes the subject upon immersion as Damian emerges in a feral frenzy, attacking Terry with an alert Goliath prepared to protect his master. Although Bruce defuses the situation in a surprising manner, it still doesn't shake the fact that Batman himself has a working Lazarus Pit, something that in the Batman Beyond history he was once offered and refused, and it makes you wonder what other surprises he has stored away.

Although Damian survives and fills everybody in on his usurper Mr. Zero and his plans to execute one of his grandfather's old doomsday plans, it's clear that the rejuvenated former Robin will waste no time working alongside Terry and his father in stopping him. Although he is both Bruce's son and Ra's grandson, Damian proves that he chooses to make his own destiny regardless if he gravitates to one lifestyle or another. The lingering concern is more about the morality of his father and his ownership of one of his greatest enemies signature weapon. Although he chooses to use it for good, Batman Beyond's Bruce Wayne is playing with the forces of life and death and the price for that is usually unclear until it's too late.

NEXT:Batman Beyond & Damian Wayne Are Saving The Future Gotham

Should Hela Be Thor's Sister, or Loki's DAUGHTER?

Drew is a reader, writer, artist, and creative professional based in Westchester, New York. He dabbles into cosplay, movie references, comics, and some anime while also being a Ghostbuster. He has a Bachelors in History, a Masters in Publishing and is excited to be working with Screen Rant. Previously his articles have been featured on Comic Book Resources and Iron Age Comics and he's excited to see what happens next!

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Batman Beyond Just Brought The Future [SPOILER] Back To Life - Screen Rant

When the final whistle went on South Africa 2010, Andres Iniesta fell to his knees and raised his arms in glory.

In that moment, youre crying like youve never cried before.

Thats what it meant, that feeling of being able to call yourself a World Cup winner, but not all it meant. Elsewhere on the Soccer City pitch, Xavi more of the ideologue, some would say more sanctimonious recalls a feeling of satisfaction.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

It is a sense of having done something good for football, not just that Spain won and we made people happy, the midfielder told the late Michael Robinson. It was a feeling to be able to say that weve marked an era.

That is undeniably true for Spain, whose victory in South Africa was the greatest of their three trophies in that historic run, and proclaimed them as probably the greatest international team in history. As regards that era of international football in general, though, its a bit more open to debate.

While South Africa 2010 was a momentous World Cup for its wider context, it was instantly forgettable in terms of the football. A mostly defensive tournament was the second-lowest scoring in history, with just 2.23 goals a game, only ahead of Italia 90.

It does feel a contradiction that the greatest ever international side rose to a peak in what was a nadir for the level.

Many might say Spain themselves contributed to this, given a minimalist run of results that read: 0-1, 2-0, 2-1, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0. They were the lowest-scoring World Cup winners.

That is a somewhat superficial reading itself, though one that overlooks the context, which involved a lot more than a contradiction.

South Africa 2010 happened at a historical crossroads in football, too.

It marked the end of a shift, which started with the 1999 expansion of the Champions League, where club football became the highest level of the game. International sides had generally not been capable of the same integration, the same cohesion, the same ideas. The top players were adjusting to an inferior level of play.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola influenced Spains football (AFP via Getty Images)

This wasnt the case with Spain. They were effectively a club team, since they were dominated by Barcelona players, and integrated into a sophisticated possession-pressing approach that had also become the national style.

That approach, of which Pep Guardiola was the high priest, had sparked a tactical revolution in football.

The game was being turned on its head as Barca and Spain were lifting almost every trophy above their heads. High possession percentages translated into high win percentages as Spain went undefeated for 35 matches. The football was often spectacular. Spain had joyously flowed at Euro 2008, and in pretty much every game right up to the start of that World Cup.

That was a key period, because it was also when we saw the single most successful response to this so movement far. That was the other extreme, in one of the most intense Champions League ties ever played. That was when Jose Mourinhos Internazionale willingly relinquished the ball, the space and the initiative to Barcelona to try and just sit deep and counter.

It worked by the slimmest of margins, but had a mass effect of its own. This temporarily became the template to tackle Barcelona and Spain. It conditioned that entire World Cup, and was the question before every Spanish match.

A couple of days before the final, I was asked: Can we [Holland] stop Spain playing in the way which allowed Jose Mourinhos Inter to eliminate Barca from the Champions League semi-final? wrote Johan Cruyff the prophet in all this.

It meant that South Africa 2010s finest team were usually involved in its most attritional games. There was also the issue that the general shift in football meant a defensive approach was far easier to impose on a disparate group of players. It was similarly less risky and more logical against a team that would kill you given the space. Switzerland showed this in the very first match and again, just about got the result.

By the final, Xavi was talking exasperatedly about how there was never any space within 30 metres of the opposition goal.

Spain and especially Spanish supporters became victims of their own success. It was because they were so good that their games now became so nerve-shredding. The opposition had few other options. They certainly wouldnt have the ball. Its probable that this conditioned Spain, too.

Vicente Del Bosque had already been conscious of how the approachs necessary high line had been susceptible to quick counter-attacks. It had the potential to become a glass jaw, but was generally well worth the risks, given the rewards.

Del Bosque had already developed a drill where one centre-half and a goalkeeper would work on counters against three attackers. That would prove decisive.

To mitigate against it further, though, Del Bosque moved away from Luis Aragones more open midfield from Euro 2008 and introduced a second pivot. Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets would now share the work previously done by Marcos Senna alone, with Xavi pushed forward. That removed some of the thrust from Spanish passing, and may have moved Xavi away from his best position. They were still commanding, but werent quite as fluid.

One argument is that it made their possession more pragmatic, less proactive. That is possible, but it is difficult to disentangle that from games where long stretches would be spent with Spain trying to unravel deeply woven backlines. They insisted they were the ones still trying to impose their game, to make the play.

David Villas role in Spains triumph is often overlooked (AFP via Getty Images)

I think we are involved in a battle to defend the soul of football, Xavi said. Thats the only way I know how to play.

That opening defeat to Switzerland also ensured every game thereafter was sudden death. Those were the stakes. The squad were keenly aware that anything less than victory and especially Spains usual early exit would be shamefully wasting a historic opportunity.

I had never in my life felt so nervous as against Honduras, Iker Casillas said.

They won that game 2-0, when it should have been 6-0, ensuring there was the same feeling before the Chile match.

The hours before that game were the most nervous I can recall since I joined the national side, David Villa told Graham Hunter.

That suffocating tension could be felt in every match.

Villa was one big reason it was eased. There is an argument the striker was Spains most important player, maybe even beyond Xavi and Iniesta. Xavi defined and set the entire style, with Iniesta continuing and enhancing it, but what was so distinctive about Villa was that he fit it but was still so different. He ensured the possession had true penetration. He was the sharpest edge amid so much smoothness. Villa scored the decisive goals for four successive games, from that match against Honduras to the battle of a quarter-final against Paraguay.

It is no coincidence that Spains best performance by far came against the next best team, in the semi-final against Germany. That wasnt just a case of rising to the occasion. It was also that Germany tried to play them on their terms, which played into Spains feet.

Joachim Lows side just werent quite ready for it. The German coach admitted that afterwards, amid effusive praise for Spain.

It is extraordinarily difficult to win the ball back if you lose it to Spain. Yes, they are definitely the best team in the world and they are going to win this tournament. In 2008, they won the European Championship in a spectacular way, totally convincing, but in the last couple of years they have evolved, introduced some changes and they now play as if they are on automatic. This team has a unique ability to dominate you and to control you. It is a marvellous team. These guys are the masters of football.

The seeds of something else were sown there, not least for Low and Germany.

Regardless of his words, though, the World Cup still had to actually be won. Spain still had to play a final that was in its own way a fitting distillation of everything that come before: a low-scoring battle; destruction against creation; attack against defence; counter-attack against possession; a contradiction in how the Dutch went against their ideals; a philosophical battle.

I would much prefer to win a very ugly game than lose a beautiful one, said Arjen Robben. The point is, we are in a World Cup final. From now on, how you actually play no longer matters. We will defend from the front; no one here feels they are too special to get their hands dirty.

Rather different to Xavis words about marking an era. Alonso instead had his chest marked by Nigel de Jong, in one of the many fouls that characterised the Dutch approach. So much for the Cruyff final.

The Dutch were playing a totally different game to what they had grown up on. The reality was that, like with so many other teams, it proved the approach that offered the best possible chance against Spain. It also produced maybe the best chance of the game.

Robben himself was at the centre of one of those counters that Spain had found themselves so susceptible to.

He was sent clean through, Casillas goal at his mercy. Except, some of Casillas training paid off. So did the goalkeepers quality.

He spoke of the moment lasting an eternity. He calculatedly put his foot out, and brought himself immortality.

Iniesta struck in extra-time of the final against the Netherlands (AFP via Getty Images)

So did Iniesta.

He offered up what Fernando Torres described as the goal of all goals. Iniesta then added the gesture of gestures, as he lifted his shirt to reveal a tribute to Dani Jarque, and ensured his late friend was remembered at that moment of greatest glory.

Spain were champions. One of the worst World Cups from a pure football perspective had crowned one of its greatest teams.

That contradiction came from a crossroads that set a new path, which Germany and France would follow. If international football was never again going to rival the club game, it meant that those countries that could industrialise youth production and a certain style of football would come closest to matching it. It is no coincidence those nations won the next two World Cups. England hope to follow the example, to enjoy that greatest of feelings.

South Africa 2010 may have been a forgettable World Cup from a football perspective, but Spains victory there had a lasting effect.

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A battle to defend the soul of football: How Spain achieved immortality at the 2010 World Cup - The Independent

The Herald

Allan Muchibwa

Sports Correspondent

THE task of comparing teams across generations is never easy, largely due to the fact conditions are never uniform.

One thing I admit becomes apparent, during these discussions is that success, indeed, means different things to different people.

For some, the consideration has to be more than just cold, bare trophy hauls.

Football is also about intangibles the aura, the style and the effects of a team on generations to come.

The intangibles should be considered in tandem with the tangibles.

To be regarded as the best team has to come along with some measure of success, otherwise, it becomes easy to dismiss as a classic case of nostalgia, as opposed to a matter of fact.

Perhaps the fact that the greatness, or lack of it, of the Dream Team, has generated this debate, confirms we are in a new age in football, and sport, where the generation is obsessed with statistics and tangibles.

Every generation believes subsequent generations have it easier than they did.

The hallmark of great teams is always balance, demonstrated by significant contribution from all team members across the pitch.

The great teams of the world have standout players but they also had other members contributing in equal measure across the park.

The great AC Milan side of Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiolas Barcelona, Jupp Heynckes Bayern Munich, and Jurgen Klopps current Liverpool were all characterised by incredible balance right across the park.

The responsibility was distributed among the entire squad.

One could argue this was the case with Reinhard Fabischs Dream Team minus the success.

You would be hard pressed to single out a misfit from back to front.

They had the genius of Peter Ndlovu and the grace of Vitalis Takawira, but the supporting cast were no sloths either.

Can the same be said of the Warriors team, for example, which qualified for the 2017 AFCON finals under Callisto Pasuwa? Hardlife Zvirekwi was an honest, hardworking fullback, but is he in the class of Mercedes Rambo Sibanda?

How does the centre half pairing of Costa Nhamoinesu and Elisha Muroiwa compare to Ephraim Chawanda and Francis Shonhai?

One could argue that the Warriors teams that have come through since have been characterised by a marked and distinct reliance on individuals to carry the fortunes of the team.

It was Peter Ndlovu, for the most part, it has become Knowledge Musona and Khama Billiat lately.

But even when a team is gifted and balanced, how do we measure greatness if it does not translate into some form of achievement or success?

The Dream Team had the second highest number of points amassed in a single qualifying campaign.

We are limited to comparing qualifying campaigns number of points versus number of games played.

Was the Dream Team a great team?

Absolutely!

However, for many, they missed an opportunity to become a truly iconic team to create a dynasty, which explains how the younger generation perceives them.

Unfortunately, people do not consider how many runs a striker makes in a game they are more concerned by how many goals he bags.

It is the nature of sport, and life, in general. Will history remember Saul Chaminukas ZPC team or Callisto Pasuwas Dynamos team who actually won the title on that final day?

Charles Mhlauris CAPS United thrilled and delighted but continental history will record that David Mandigoras less fancied Dynamos got to the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League.

Manchester United won the Premier League title in the 1996/97 with 75 points, whilst Liverpool were runners-up in 2018-19 with 97 points.

In fact, this Liverpool team was so good Guardiola said it was probably the most difficult team he has had faced as a player or coach.

Under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham Hotspur made huge strides both as a team and as a club.

However, they never won trophies they did not achieve the tangible and Pochettino was fired just months after reaching Champions League final.

Instead, Claudio Ranieris direct football at Leicester won them the league in the 2015/16 season.

Again, you can only beat what is in front of you.

The Warriors teams which have gone on and qualified for the AFCON finals have been exposed to possibly the some of the worst possible conditions in their qualifying campaign.

They travelled to Swaziland and Malawi by road, they have had hastily-arranged camps, they were not paid their bonuses, the environment was not conducive for them to do well.

The Dream Team had it better in this regard. Having an expanded format is no guarantee that a team qualifies.

Ghana missed out in 2004, Mali in 2006, Algeria in 2008, Morocco in 2010, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria in 2012, Cameroon in 2013, Nigeria in 2015 and 2017.

In all these instances, these teams had some top, world-class talents in their respective setups.

The reason the Dream Team are still part of the discussion, decades later, is that the generation they thrilled are still present to add to the discussion.

The 2004 team will become more symbolic 40 years on, with a new generation, because they will be the first Warriors side to qualify for the AFCON finals whatever the circumstances.

What the Dream Team did can be eroded by time, because they are just memories, what the Warriors of 2004 did cannot, because they will always be backed by facts.

Memories fade as generations pass, but trophies, milestones and achievements stand the test of time.

The reality is that the Dream Team will be a favourite team, especially for the older generation, but years from now, they may not be as iconic as the 2004 Warriors team.

They will not have a place in the CAF records of participants like the Warriors of 2006, 2017 and 2019.

All teams encounter challenges and hurdles and they have to find ways to confront them.

Conditions are never perfect, teams will be judged against the conditions of their day, the Dream Team had a limited qualifying quota.

In an expanded format, some argue they would have qualified for the AFCON but, we will never know.

Meanwhile, the Warriors teams, post-2000, have had to deal with diabolical planning and organisation of colossal proportions.

One could argue with better administration, they would have done even better in qualifying, as well as at the competition finals.

The underlying reality, however, and a lesson for any sportsman, is that entertaining alone is not enough.

The Dream Team missed an opportunity to become the immortals of Zimbabwean football no one can question that.

Allan Muchibwa is a part-time guest sports analyst at Capitalk 100.4 FM and briefly worked as Dynamos media liaison officer.

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Dream Team missed date with immortality - The Herald

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The field of contenders for the 2020 virtual U.S. Open is sufficiently deep that as many as two dozen players stand at least a plausible chance of winning. After all, there have been a lot of great national champions since the tournament came into being in 1895.

Beyond the 11 favorites whose profiles were outlined yesterday, at least 14 others could seriously contend. Between 1902 and 2018, those 14 have accounted for 19 championships. Their ranks are populated by some of the games immortals: Palmer, Player, and Watson among them.

At the very top of the list of second-tier candidates, though, is a name rarely thought of when golf immortality is measured. Julius Boros was a trained accountant, not a product of a golf academy, who approached the game with the faculties an accounting background brings.

Walking to the ball, Boros gait was deliberate to the point of indifference. During that walk up, it was as if he was calculating in his mind the various ramifications of each aspect of the shot. Once over the ball, though, Boros was both precise and decisive, never spending more than a second or two in his setup.

That pre-set approach led Boros to a pair of U.S. Open titles, at Northwood in Dallas. Eleven years later, Boros beat Arnold Palmer and Jackie Cupit in a playoff for the 1963 title at the Country Club in Brookline.

Between 1951 and 1960 the peak of his Open performance Boros was seven times among the top 10, finishing third in 1958 and 1960. Never in that period was he outside the top 25, and it is his consistency at peak level that accounts for the -1.24 average standard deviation of his peak Open performance. Thats outside the best 11, but only barely.

Here are profiles of the other 13 in the second tier of serious contenders.

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More here:

Virtual U.S. Open: Palmer, Boros and other challengers - Pro Golf Now

We spend so much money and efforts on medicines and treatments to stay healthy, but did you know the root to immortality lies in our own country; This might sound unbelievable, but according to the books of Ayurveda, Giloy can cure as well as prevent hundreds of diseases. Right from seasonal ailments like cold, cough, flu to stomach issues to diabetes to chronic arthritis, giloy has been used for its medicinal purpose since times immemorial.

This age-old miraculous herb is also known as Amrita in sanskrit, which means immortality. In fact, according to the Ayurvedic experts consuming giloy on a daily basis can keep disease at bay. This is the reason why giloy extracts have been used as an active ingredient in several Ayurvedic medicines. Apart from that, giloy is one such ingredient that can be consumed in several ways. However, the stem of this plant has maximum nutrition. Read on to know more about the health benefits of giloy juice and how it helps in building immunity.

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Health benefits of giloy juice and easy kadha recipes - Times of India

It's an exciting time for anyone connected with Liverpool Football Club at the moment.

The Reds are the European and world champions and are on course to seal the 2019/20 Premier League title for the first time in three decades as football gets ready to restart and lockdown restrictions ease following the coronavirus pandemic.

With nine games to go, Jurgen Klopp's side are 25-points clear of their nearest rivals Manchester City while it is mathematically impossible for any other side in the top flight to now catch up.

Liverpool need just six points for immortality having lost only once all season and know that should City lose to Arsenal on Wednesday night, an opportunity for them to claim the elusive Premier League trophy will present itself against Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Should those events not take place, Klopp's men could win the title at Anfield against Crystal Palace in the following game or even against City themselves at the Etihad after that.

We want to know what your ideal outcome would be, where you want Liverpool to win the title and what you think will happen during the remainder of the season.

While you're filling in the survey, please take the time to consider signing up for our daily newsletter at the end. It arrives in your inbox before 9am every day and will give you an at-a-glance look at the biggest Liverpool Football Club stories that day. It's easy to unsubscribe if you decide you don't like it.

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Where do you want Liverpool to win Premier League title and what do you predict will happen? - Liverpool Echo