T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house not a soul was stirring….not even a mouse…..well actually the wireless mouse was stirring as Santa was on the computer on Facebook. 

He was making last minute preparations for…..well he should have been making last minute preparations for Christmas, checking his list, and checking it twice ! But Santa was actually sending a Facebook Friend Request to Lloyd Jodah, President of American College Cricket and writting an email.

 

Mrs Claus was getting on Santa’s case, “All month, on & on about what’s his name and his 100 centuries,- its  Christmas why are you still busy with cricket ? You have to begin delivering Gifts now – the Sleigh is loaded and ready. Lots of kids are waiting for their Christmas Gifts!”

 

Santa was under pressure, but he kept his cool, “I know, I know….but this is really important….I got all these requests from guys in Universities all over the USA & Canada who want to play in the 2012 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship – I have to see what I can do to get them what they want. ”

 

“Well hurry up” Mrs Claus urged, ”Oh and whilst you’re doing that see if you can get Rudolph in too, he was telling me something about Spring Break, chicks and cricket”.

 

“Rudolph ?” Santa seemed surprised.

 

“Yes, Rudolph, ” Mrs Claus confirmed, “The other Reindeer won’t let him play in any Bowl Games, so he wants to go to the American College Cricket Championship.”

 

“I’ll see what I can do my Dear, ” Santa said as he continued clicking away on his computer, taking a sip on his Starbucks Egg Nog.

 

Suddenly there was a loud “Yesss!!!” as Santa Claus jumped out of his seat, accidentally knocking over his Egg Nog……Mrs Claus came running into the room to see what the commotion was about !  “What happened ?! “ she asked.

 

Santa answered excitedly, “Yes !!! Apparently Lloyd spends a lot of time on Facebook, he responded quickly ! He said he will allow the late Colleges in ! and even better….he will let Rudolph and the Reindeer play too….Rudolph will lead the North Pole University Cricket team ! ”

 

Mrs Claus rushed over and hugged Santa, ”OOoooooohhhhhh..what a Merry Christmas, I loove yooouuu my Jelly Belly,my Chubby Hubby,my Rolly Poly, my Michelin Man,….I would hug you tighter if I could get my arms around you !”

 

“Thank you dear” Santa said, “I’m happy just being with you here…..but it’ll be great for Rudolph & the Reindeer to go play cricket at Spring Break with their college peers. Plus they’ll enjoy the Ft Lauderdale Beaches, Miami, South Beach and the women down there”.

 

“You are such a thoughtful man, Santa, and so self less ” Mrs Claus gushed, “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s all this mail we’ve been getting from American and Canadian Universities ? ”

 

“Oh that? ” Santa responded off handedly, “I’ve just been thinking of going back to college for a Master’s .”

 

“Going back to College ?! ” Mrs Claus let Santa go quicker than a hot plate, “Are you planning on going back to College so you can play in the American College Cricket Spring Break Championship ? ! ”

 

Reported by Lloyd Jodah

 

 

 

Rahul Dravid, in a magnificent speech,practically laid out a blueprint for where cricket should go in the future – hopefully, those with the power to make changes,take heed.

A Test Championship, ODIs in context, and the economically valuable T20 played at a league & domestic level only – something to consider. My view is T20 cricket should be an Olympic sport,but that’s probably never happening.

Video courtesy of Cricket Australia.

Until the “shop” is set up on the website : – To order contact Ravi at CricketzoneUSA.com – Phone # 347 387 2381, 718 684 1140
Email : info@cricketzoneusa.com . Give item code #

RUTGERS, TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE LAUNCH

INDIA CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT

Rutgers University Press Release

            NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – If strength truly lies in numbers, then India, with a population that includes more than 550 million citizens under 25, has the potential to develop one of the world’s great workforces.

            At present, however, only a small percentage of those young people are gaining access to higher-level skills. A new joint initiative of Rutgers and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, the India Center for Sustainable Growth and Talent, will seek to correct that shortcoming.

            “Talent has been the key to India’s emergence as a rapidly developing economic power since it liberalized its economy in 1991,” said David Finegold, Rutgers’ senior vice president for Lifelong Learning and Strategic Growth. “The country’s large supply of well-educated, English-speaking graduates has helped attract investment from corporations around the world in its IT and business services.

            “But for India is to capture the benefits of its ‘demographic dividend,’ the largest single workforce for the global economy of the 21st century, India must urgently reform all stages of its education and training system.”

            The new joint center will provide expert support for India’s National Skill Development Strategy and the cooperative 21st Century Knowledge Initiative launched earlier this year by President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Its three core parts are:

• Applied research through the India Talent Observatory, including the influential annual survey of Indian graduates studying abroad that was jointly developed by Finegold (then dean of Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations) and Professor B. Venkatesh Kumar of TISS in Mumbai.
• Cooperative education and training programs, including student exchange, development of dual-degree programs and short courses for continuing and executive education
• Capacity building to enhance the governance and capabilities of India’s education and training institutions through research fellowships for new and prospective Indian faculty, administrators and higher education policymakers.           

            The annual survey of Indian graduate students studying abroad was the institutions’ first joint project. The research covered nearly 1,000 Indians who are either pursuing or have completed graduate study in the United States and found that only 8 percent strongly prefer to remain in this country.

 At the time, Finegold called the findings “surprising and encouraging” for Indian universities. “We expected that more students would lean heavily toward remaining in the U.S., but our results suggest many young academics would be interested in pursuing a faculty career in India if policymakers can address some of the key issues facing the Indian higher education system.”

            Finegold added that India needs to recruit at least 1 million new faculty members for its colleges and universities if it is to meet the government’s goal of making higher education available to 20 percent of young people by 2020. The partners’ second version of the survey – to study Indians being educated in the United Kingdom and Australia and to also compare them with Chinese who have come to study in the U.S. – will be carried out in November.

            Both Rutgers and the Tata Institute have contributed funding toward the initiative and will seek additional monies through the Obama-Singh Knowledge Initiative. Private sources of funding also are being sought, Finegold said.

In another momentous event, Rutgers University plays vs NYU-Polytechnic in the first ever televised American College Cricket match this Saturday at 7 pm on TV Asia -available on major cable systems in the USA & Canada & Dish Network. 

For Universities/Colleges :

TV Asia’s distribution partners International Media Distributors has a program for distribution in Colleges – tell the University Relations Dept in your colleges. Educational Partners: http://www.imediadistribution.com/resources

In an effort to enhance educational programs for students, International Media Distribution is proud to connect schools across the United States with the best networks from around the world. The networks aid students in learning a language, understanding cultures or entertaining students far from home.

TV Asia already is carried by the following Universities :

Rutgers Universty
Auburn University
Kansas State University
Stanford University
Union College (Schenectady)
University of Wisconsin Madison
Western Michigan University

FOR INDIVIDUAL HOMES :
TV Asia is a US based pay Channel available on Echo Star’s DISH Network Platform, on major Cable systems such as Cablevision, Time Warner, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, and on Verizon FIOS and A T & T uverse in the USA, and on Rogers and Bell Canada in Canada. Don’t have TV Asia ? Call 1800 652 2253
www.TVAsiaUSA.com

Martin Scorsese -Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfells,Departed,Mean Streets,Kings of Comedy),’s film for HBO opens Oct 5, “George Harrison-Living in the World”

I have been a fan of George Harrison as long as I can remember, first because he was one of the Beatles when they changed music and the world, then came his great guitar work and his songs.

A remarkable man and musician, George Harrison began the idea of artists helping in times of disaster, with his Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

The fact that George immersed himself in Indian culture added to the connection.He learned to play the sitar, and became a Hindu, introduced the Beatles to India and played a significant role in opening Western societies to Indian music and culture in the 1960′s. His son is named Dhani.

When Harrison died in 2001,his ashes were scattered in the Ganges River by his close family in a private ceremony according to Hindu tradition.

However,until tonight, I never realized his birthdate was February 25, the same as my Dad.