*Only* one million euros, lah

Only one million euros, lah

I was quite wrong about Nadal's prize money. It was one, not five, million euros. Still, that's a lot of money...

There are a million things that could be said about that match and about him but the main point is that he's quite untouchable on clay. Sorry to rub salt into Federer's wound but he can stop hoping.

I can only think of 3 men who could be permitted to dream of it, namely, Djokovic, Ferrer and Nalbandian. Djokovic because he managed a small chink in the armour by taking Nadal to a tie break in the semi. Ferrer because he made a little dent by taking - gasp - a set off Nadal at Barcelona. Nalbandian - I'm just guessing because he and Ferrer have the skill, the style, mastery of clay, etc, (but both don't have the drive and consistency) and he does have a positive win-loss record against Nadal. However, it has been some time since they last played...

Anyway, with Nadal and Djokovic barely over 20 years old, time is not on Federer's side. And not on the two Davids' sides either. So, like I said, Nadal can more or less rest on his throne for a couple of years or so.

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A lesson in love

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. -Mother Teresa Most of the time my eyes just glaze over when I see article upon article of football news. One caught my glazing eye over the weekend, though - 'De la Cruz - Mother Theresa in boots' , because of the familiar name. Mother Teresa, that is. It was the first time I’d ever heard of this de la Cruz guy, an EPL player who hails from Ecuador (GNI per capita US$2,630; as a comparison, Singapore’s is US$27, 490 – source: BBC country profiles ). His is a great story to illustrate that famous Chinese saying about not forgetting your roots. According to the article, ‘Each month a proportion of that salary (about S$150,000) Reading pay him - be it 10 per cent in January or 20 per cent in February - goes direct to the village’ (where he grew up). (Picture and profile from here ) Here's what he has been credited for: 1. 'The 2002 World Cup,' de la Cruz reflects, 'finan

True train school

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No wonder

According to a poll of about 300 people, reported in yesterday's Sunday Times, (how come nobody ever asks me these things?) , the Seven Wonders of Singapore are (in order of merit): 1. The Esplanade (a whopping 82 votes) 2. Changi Airport (53 votes) 3. Sentosa 4. The Merlion 5. The Singapore River 6. Food 7. Mount Faber and LKY (tie - 10 votes each) Some 'offbeat choices' which didn't make it to the top 7: aunties selling tissue paper at coffee shops, Singlish, kiasuism, 4D-Toto outlets and Newater (said someone of Newater: 'We are probably the only country with branded recycled sewage.' Well said, ha ha.). Maybe it's a personal bias but I feel that a 'Wonder' must also have strong historical and cultural/social value (so I'm rather miffed that Angkor Wat didn't make it to the 7 Wonders of the World; in fact it was never in the running for the top 7). Therefore, these choices are a little too modern for me. The Esplanade, for example, is a

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