For the love of the game

Kim Clijsters: How focus wins the game

If you watched the US Open ladies’ semifinals match between Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams, you’d have witnessed a stark contrast in mindsets. At some points, it was a close match. But what won in the end was emotional intelligence. After [blogging earlier](http://vantan.org/archives/2009/09/working_with_em.php) about Daniel Goleman’s book, [Working with Emotional Intelligence](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553378589?ie=UTF8&tag=vantan-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0553378589), I re-read the chapter …

Thoughts on Scolari’s sacking

I was about to hit the sack but was jolted by the news that [Chelsea just sacked Scolari](http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/football/02/09/chelsea.scolari/index.html). There are numerous academic journals that discuss the efficacy of sacking football managers on the basis of improving performance. Some look for a correlation between sackings and performance with inconclusive results while others report that [stability is …

Tennis and football predictions

It’s an exciting time for a spectator like me, as the Euro 2008 football finals loom and tennis stars battle their way to the top at Wimbledon. My favourite for Wimbledon ladies – Jelena Jankovic ([blog](http://www.jj-jelenajankovic.com/eng/blog.php)). Because she’s the only top 3 seed left, after Ana “Girl next door” Ivanovic and Maria “The Screamer” Sharapova …