The paper that cares is back!

The paper that cares is back. The Malay Mail has a new look and it comes out in the afternoon, really after noon. Could not resist the temptation of watching Rockybru belting out Ramli Sarip's number at the hip and happening relaunch party at BSC Wednesday night. To Rocky, his trusted lieutenants and the foot soldiers, all the best.

From left 8TV CEO Ahmad Izham Omar (keyboards), TM Group CEO, Datuk Zamzairani Md Isa, Malay Mail's Editor in chief, Rocky, Maybank CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar and Celcom CEO, Datuk Shazally Ramly (drums)

Datuk A Kadir Jasin and Datuk Johan Jaafar, chairman of Media Prima, entertain questions from former Business Times journo, Adlin M Zabri. Foreground, KL Mayor, Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail.

Who would have thought a boy from Kampung Melayu in Ipoh would turn out to be a media mogul? Former BA of Malaysia (BAM) secretary, Datuk Mohamed Al-Amin Abdul Majid, who was constantly a subject of loose cannon's criticism circa 1998, is the man behind Malay Mail and BernamaTV...hmmm. We might differ on many issues pertaining to badminton but Al Amin always has time for loose cannon!

Loose cannon likes the masthead

The chief Rockybru aka Ahirudin Attan under the spotlight, as usual

Atilia, Marion Caunter and Zainal Alam Kadir

Ex-Malay Mail journo Randhir Singh is perhaps introducing this cameraman to the famous Other Thots author, blogger and former NSTP co-owner, Datuk A Kadir Jasin

El Loco, Haresh Deol, Aftar Singh and Ajitpal Singh celebrating Manchester United's defeat...

The end-o of a generation

When Yasuhito Endo was installed as the top Asian footballer during the AFC Awards night in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, loose cannon's mind harked back to the time when he was among those privileged enough to bear witness to one of Japan's greatest generations. It was exactly a decade ago when Philippe Troussier formed a group of young samurais who took the footballing world by storm.

Today Endo and the likes of Yuji Nakazawa are in their prime, functioning as effectively as they were a decade ago.

Contrast that to the Malaysian class of 1999. Khalid Jamlus was a passenger in the Malaysia Cup final recently, while injury prone Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli who was introduced to his would-be wife Shahira during that trip to Japan, is no longer in the national set-up.

Among those who played under Hatem Souissi in Japan were Jamsari Sabian, Khairun Haled Masrom, Rosle Md Derus, M. Elangoo, M. Gopalan, S. Jayaprakash, Das Gregory, Gilbert Cassedy Gawing and Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan, with the majority of them born in 1977 and had formed the nucleus to the World Youth Cup team in Kuala Lumpur two years earlier.

2009 Asian Footballer of the Year, Yasuhito Endo, was a reserve in the Japanese Olympic team that boasted the likes of...

...Shinji Ono who five months after helping Japan to the runners-up spot in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Nigeria, bullied the Malaysian team into submission in the pre-Olympics

...while Masashi Motoyama's mazy dribbling skills on the right flank were unforgettable

...and Atsushi Yanagisawa is best remembered for his predatory instincts

Also in Troussier's team were Shunsuke Nakamura whose left peg is feared by the entire Scottish football fraternity and former Fulham and Arsenal midfield dynamo, Junichi Inamoto.

Inter-media - Footy and ping pong

The Star's Azhar Mahfof and Utusan Malaysia sports editor Meor Herman Shakri

Hafizal Hamad of RTM enjoys the feminine touch

Utusan Malaysia's Taufek Razak tussles with Badlishah of Berita Harian

Arnaz M Khairul of NST refrains from chopping Utusan's Sayed Hesham Idris's head

Even at his age, Lukman Salleh of Berita Harian is agile as ever

The sponsors' team finished third in the football competition

TV3 emerged runners-up in the footy tourney

The champions - NSC. So was it fixed?

Loose cannon should have played for this team. Kosmo! were more energetic and not clueless in front of goal. Loose cannon would be content cheering the team on from the sidelines

Liverpool fan Arrifin Ghani revelled in the striker's role, proving to be deadly as he was with the hockey sticks. Zawawi (right) takes a breather from his royal role

Loose cannon demonstrates a forehand return

Even the camera was not fast enough to capture loose cannon's lightning reflexes as he bagged the bronze in the ping pong tourney, partnering his one time rival at Berita Harian and now SAM president, Ahmad Khawari Isa

Alias Md Rani (left) having his breakfast (notice the cigarette) and Sufian Thauri Muhammed of Harian Metro entertaining thoughts of representing Malaysia in futsal

Berita Harian A registered emphatic wins en route to the semis (ping pong)

Loose cannon took home these prizes. According to rumours it was fixed

The Utusan Malaysia football team

ESPN Sportscenter presenter-cum-actor Rashid Salleh with loose cannon junior

Upon loose cannon's insistence, this picture was taken, the Malay Mail-Bloggers and the Kosmo! outfit. In the final analysis, loose cannon played for the wrong team!

EPLx Kosmo! 21 Nov

A scandalous relaunch for Malay Mail

All-time favourite

From switchimage, loose cannon's all-time favourite France jersey

Loose cannon's all-time favourite French player - former rugby player Manuel Amoros. He was equally adept with both feet, tough in the tackles and very attack-minded.

I hate the latest design of Les Bleus' maillot

If France are lucky, this man may not take Les Bleus to South Africa. Loose cannon's choice - Didier Deschamps or Laurent Blanc! By the way loose cannon resents the latest design...the French call it maillot or for us its jersey

Because of this once revered king of Highbury who demonstrated his handball/basketball skills near the touchline of the Stade de France, Domenech survived the guillotine.

Malaysian Malays in M-League in 2011

The Malaysian Malays are eyeing a spot in the M-League in 2011.

Santokh Singh in HKL

From left FA of Selangor treasurer S. Sivasundaram, Armed Forces coach Razali Alias and FAS secretary Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin with Santokh's wife, Taljit Kaur. Pic courtesy Wan Fakhrul Wan Bakar of Kosmo

Santokh Singh, the bedrock of the national team in the late 70s and early 80s whose partnership with Soh Chin Aun was as solid as the A Famosa in Malacca, is in the intensive care unit of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

The former Selangor defender, 57, was admitted on Monday after suffering a seizure. Let's pray for his well-being.

Inter-Media football

The following email was sent to loose cannon a few days back!

TCP - KUALA LUMPUR: Former journalist turned blogger-cum-home maker-cum-freelance agent-cum-editor has been described as a mole by his counterparts after representing an opposing team in the recent NSC-Media Inter Games table tennis competition.

Rizal partnered a BH reporter to clinch the bronze medal in the competition - much to the dismay of his team mates at MM.

Rizal will now represent Malay Mail in the football tournament on Nov 22 but his loyalty to the team is in doubt. MM join the likes of Kosmo, Harian Metro, RTM, TV3 and Astro-Espn in Group A - dubbed as the group of death.

Efforts to contact Rizal over the matter proved futile.

Sadly, the Malay Mail team, who are lacking in numbers, will have to make do with this 'mole' who seems preoccupied with other activities and have not even updated his blog for the past four days.

"It's a sad day for us but we have no choice but to render his services. Once a mole always a mole," said a pony-tailed MM staff who declined to be named.

It is understood that Rizal, who adores France for no valid reason, still has a strong attachment with BH - a publication he once served during his rookie days and days when he was a lot more thiner.

Nevertheless, Rizal will still play in instrumental role in belittling his fellow team mates in MM to make them stronger and perhaps win the title - for the second time in a row.

This report was brought to you exclusively by Talk Cock Publication Ltd.


Group A
A1: Awani-Espn
A2: NSC
A3: TV3
A4: Kosmo
A5: RTM
A6: The Malay Mail
A7: Harian Metro

Group B
B1: Utusan
B2: NST
B3: Sinar Harian
B4: The Star
B5: Sponsor
B6: RTM
B7: Berita Harian

EPLx 14 November

Ligue Un at SuperSport 2

Le Bresilien, Jose Toure - Thierry Henry and Jean Tigana combined. In Belgium to visit his cousin in 1985, loose cannon saw Toure on TV playing for Nantes against Inter Milan...surrounded by world-class footballers, Toure was the outstanding performer. A gold medallist with Les Bleus in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Toure self-destructed by getting involved in drugs.

Jean Pierre Papin signed the mag when he was in Kuala Lumpur with Bayern Munich in conjunction with the inauguration of the Shah Alam Stadium in 1994

Loose cannon's first issue of Onze in 1987, featuring Bordeaux attacker, Philippe Fargeon, courtesy of Kak Lin's friends. Posted via mail. Onze later joined forces with Mondial to become Onze Mondial, one of the best football magazines in the world.

Astro SuperSport 2 will show Ligue 1

Loose cannon's love affair with French football began long before he reached his teens.

But there was little in Malaysia to satisfy his cravings for all things French.

Apart from a few column inches in either the New Straits Times or the Malay Mail, loose cannon had to rely on news clips on TV1 in the early 80s or the weekly show Dunia Sukan hosted by Abdullah Hasim and Marina Chin to catch a glimpse of Michel Platini's compatriots in action.

Having had enough of British propaganda and superiority complex through the various footy mags in the market, such as Shoot!, Match and World Soccer, loose cannon was terribly excited when he browsed through the mags at the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris in 1986, the year Les Bleus advanced to the World Cup semis only to fall to the Germans.

Though France can be considered as a football powerhouse, Ligue 1 does not appeal to most Malaysians. Sometime in the late 90s, ntv7 did broadcast highlights of the game, with former national swimmer Jeffrey Ong providing commentary.

This season Astro SuperSport (811) has shown highlights of Ligue 1 and occasionally matches involving Olympique de Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. Now it will be shown over 816. Good for Astro.

Writing under the pseudonym Herr Blitzkrieg in the Malay Mail in 2006, loose cannon pointed out to the German ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, that RTM used to show Football Made in Germany in the 80s. The season following the 2006 World Cup, SuperSport began to show Bundesliga highlights.

Published in the Malay Mail, July 5, 2006

SOMETIME last year, Herr Blitzkrieg was privileged enough to talk for a fleeting moment with German Ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, Herbert D. Jess.

His Excellency Herr Jess, was pleased to say Germany and Malaysia have had a cordial working relationship in the world of sports for more than two decades.

"I remember when Bayern Munich came to Shah Alam in 1994, thousands of Malaysians watched them train. Our hockey team have participated in numerous tournaments in Kuala Lumpur and we have also exchanged programmes in football," said Jess.

Herr Blitzkrieg pointed out that a few German coaches had left a mark in Malaysia. Dettmar Cramer came to share his knowledge in Kuala Lumpur in the 1960s, while Karl Weigang guided Malaysia to the Olympic Games in Moscow, only for the country to boycott the 1980 edition.

In exchanging pleasantries, Herr Jess expressed his surprise as to why there was no German football on TV.

Herr Blitzkrieg politely told Herr Jess that at one time there was Football Made In Germany way way back in the 1980s, when Englishmen Kevin Keegan and Tony Woodcock were plying their trade in Hamburg and Cologne respectively.

Apart from consuming American propaganda through the series Combat where the Germans were portrayed as a subject of hate, Herr Blitzkrieg's TV diet included Italian Soccer, Football Made In Germany, Brazilian Soccer as well as the barely palatable Big League Soccer and Star Soccer.

Based on their performance, Juergen Klinsmann's boys have stated a strong case for Bundesliga matches to be shown again on Malaysian screens.

From Klinsi's starting 11, Jens Lehmann is the only foreign-based player, while Michael Ballack will only be joining Chelsea after the World Cup. Talent is awash in Bundesliga.

Astro SuperSport should lead the way. They have begun to show highlights of French football long after NTV7 and Jeffrey Ong gave up on it.

Too much English football, or the England team, is not good for the brains, one must remember.

Sven-Goran Eriksson's England helped Herr Blitzkrieg beat insomnia, and the English game has also helped produce a petulant yet talented player in Wayne Rooney, who will be bonded forever with Cristiano Ronaldo.

* Slowmental Riquelme, Sheva, Lamps and the Goofy One will be invited for a screen test for the hit TV series Lost.

* Football is orgasmic, to some of Herr Blitzkrieg's colleagues. No wonder because they allow themselves to be distracted from on the pitch activities. Joe Kampung gets thrilled by the commercials during half-time, Seeing Red cannot stop but ogle at the Brazilian girls while Latin lover El Loco loves to gush about panty-changing.

In contrast, Van Gyzi gets excited by the odds, ringgit and sen. Don Catenaccio seldom gets his predictions wrong because he is linked to the underworld while Goalfinger is sadly clinging on to the notion that England can play like Brazil, Argentina or France. What has the world come to?

* Herr Blitzkrieg's days as a columnist are numbered.

Astro is glad to announce the good news from the Sports Segment - Astro is truly the home of sports content with even more exciting sports action on Astro SuperSport 2 coming soon to all Astro sports subscribers beginning Wednesday 18 November 2009 on Channel 816 at no additional cost.

Astro SuperSport 2 (Channel 816) brings sports fans more choices in global sporting events like BWF Badminton, ATP Tennis, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and American sports such as NFL and NHL to name a few.

In addition, selected live boxing matches which were previously pay-per-view is now available on this new channel, giving our sports avid customers more value at no added cost.

Press Release

More Live Sports on the new Astro SuperSport 2 (Channel 816)
Sports fans can enjoy Liverpool TV, Chelsea TV, Barcelona TV and Live Boxing

Kuala Lumpur, 11 November 2009 - Sports fans in Malaysia will soon be able to get more live adrenalin action sports on Astro with the launch of a new channel Astro SuperSport 2 (Channel 816) from Wednesday 18 November 2009.

Astro SuperSport 2 (Channel 816) brings sports fans more choices in global sporting events like BWF Badminton, ATP Tennis, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and American sports such as NFL and NHL to name a few. In addition, selected live boxing matches which were previously pay-per-view is now available on this new channel, giving our sports avid customers more value at no added cost.

Lee Choong Khay, Head of Sports Business at Astro said:

"With ASSP2, we now have 6 best in class sports offering on our platform for an entry price of RM 66.95. We expect our customers to find Astro SuperSport 2 a good value proposition with the inclusion of new programmes and added hours of fresh sports content."

Furthermore, football fans will have more new football programmes such as Chelsea TV, Liverpool TV and Barcelona TV where fans can watch match highlights of premier league games plus UEFA Champions League and FA Cup games, pre and post match reactions, latest news and interviews with past and present football legends, exclusive behind the scenes footage and replay of classic matches.

Note: **Manchester United TV will be shown on Astro SuperSport (CH 811)

Datuk Hamidin...

Tahniah kepada Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, setiausaha Persatuan Bola Sepak Selangor (FAS) atas penganugerahan pingat kebesaran DIMP, Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) sempena ulang tahun keputeraan Sultan Ahmad Shah bulan lalu.

For all our differences, Hamidin remains cordial with loose cannon. There was a time when loose cannon had to pick between Hamidin and another gentleman but loose cannon opted for the latter.

Despite that, Hamidin seems to harbour no ill-feelings towards loose cannon. Even if he does, he does not show it.

For that loose cannon respects him.