Pirate Galaxy » cynically hardened fans one match at a

Yuh cyaan read me. Yuh cyaan study me. Doh even try to study me. Chris Gayle delivers his opening boast with an italicised patois flourish that leaps from the page like an open-shouldered smack over long-off. It is a challenge to his critics - and Lord knows, hes picked up a few of them in recent times - and a statement of intent. These are his words, his story. He will tell it as he chooses.You cant read me… But you can, if you prefer, read his book, and thoroughly engaging it is too - a turbulent, breathless rampage at times, but at its heart a classic rags-to-riches tale of a character who will be recalled, when all else is forgiven and forgotten, as one of the founders of the modern game.Theres no need simply to take my word for that, either. Gayle is at pains to spell out his exalted status through any manner of devices - repetition and exaggeration key among them. World Baaass, Universe Boss, lover of women and slayer of reputations. With his swagger and his strokeplay, its never been possible to ignore him on a cricket field, so theres no way youre going to get a moments peace from his ego while tucking into his words.Thats not a bad thing, by the way. Far too many sportsmen assume the auto in autobiography stands for autopilot, and duly trot out a bland diet of clichés and scorecard rewrites to justify their advances. Gayle, if anything, is guilty of oversharing, but as the man himself might put it with a wink and a nod, theres plenty of him to go around.But its too easy, particularly in the wake of the controversy at the Big Bash involving Mel McLaughlin, and given the showmanship that is such a fundamental of his appeal, to ignore the subtleties - the sensitivities, even - that have made Gayle the man he is today, and have galvanised his belief that he should never compromise for a minute on who he is.The prologue to his book sets a different tone - with Gayle waking up in a Melbourne hospital following heart surgery during West Indies tour of Australia in 2005-06, hearing the beep beep of the monitors and vowing, there and then, to do everything to the fullest. No waiting, no hedging, no compromises, no apologies.You have to say, hes been true to his word. And in fact, three years later, at the culmination of one of the most surreal fortnights of his career - the Stanford 20/20 for 20 against England, Gayle used a large chunk of his US$1 million winnings to fund a similar operation for his brother, Andrew.His journey, in the most linear sense, has taken Gayle from a five-to-a-room shack in downtown Kingston to a nine-bedroom mansion with a strip joint in the basement. It has taken him, also, to every conceivable corner of crickets globe - people call me a gun for hire. Sixteen franchises in nine different countries across five continents - setting out the rules of freelance engagement for the generations of cricketers that will follow him. I am not to blame for the way the world spins, he says, with no little conviction.The most evocative chapters of Gayles story are those that deal with the deprivations of his childhood in Rollington Town - a life in which birthdays were jus another day you hungry, and Saturdays might mean chicken-foot soup to replace the fried balls of flour and water that served as his daily meals.Against this backdrop, Gayle - a scrawny kid for whom the muscle definition of adulthood would be a long time coming - was drawn into the embrace of his local club, Lucas CC, thanks in no small part to an improbable and, frankly, enlightening first role model: Miss Hamilton, his primary school cricket teacher. She soon spots that I dont like to run … I spot that she can bat and bowl as well as any man. When Miss Hamilton comes in with her full pace, you are ducking and swaying like those palms in a November hurricane.Twenty-five years later, Gayle still seeks out his first coach whenever hes back in town, as if underscoring his oft-repeated mantra that hes a Jamaican first and foremost - Ill always keep the flag flying. I travel the world but I always come home.His iconic status within the island rivals that of Usain Bolt, and Gayle draws a fair parallel between the impact of Bolts 9.58 in Berlin in 2009 and his own astonishing 175 not out for Bangalore in the IPL in 2013: the tales of an island grinding to a halt to watch agog as history whizzes by: How much? I thought this was a T20. Oh f***, it is T20! The pair share a bond that reflects Gayles exalted status - Bolt once memorably bowled Gayle out in a charity match and celebrated with his traditional to the sky pose - but on the whole theres a notable absence of camaraderie in his tale. Gayle talks, tellingly, of having to settle for calling all of his team-mates bro as he moves from franchise to franchise, often waiting for them to pull on their shirts before committing to a name.And when it comes to West Indies - for all the justified euphoria of their World T20 win in 2012 (the 2016 version came too late to make the narrative) - theres again an ambivalence about some of his relationships in an often-fractured squad. Brian Lara, not for the first time, comes across as moody and other-worldly - He go left, you just go right. As simple as it is.His truest friendships, you sense, are the ones he has lost - two in particular: Garrick Grant, a Lucas kid crushed under the wheels of a bus as he bailed off at his stop, and Runako Morton, the talented, temperamental Nevisian batsman who died in a car crash in 2012 without ever quite fulfilling his potential. Death stalk you. But dont fear death.And yet, throughout his book, the pride that Gayle takes in his achievements as a West Indian cricketer, in spite of the spats with the board and the attractions of his mercenary lifestyle, pour off the pages - and you get the sense, for all the records hes smashed in T20 cricket, some of which may never be challenged, pride of place in his mind goes to his twin triple-centuries in Tests.In fact, his defence of Test cricket - without Bob Marley there would be no Beenie Man … people still love reggae, but they are buying dancehall - is far more eloquent than the usual platitudes that get trotted out when such awkward questions are posed to sportsmen.Only seven men have more West Indies caps than me. I was born into Test cricket and I have lived through Test cricket. I can bat like a true Test batsman.Tink yuh know me? Yuh dont know me.Six Machine: I Dont Like Cricket... I Love It By Chris Gayle Viking 288 pagesCustom Croatia Soccer Jerseys . 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Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70.The late swerve to the ending of Mondays Raw?main event?dramatically altered the direction of where the WWEs flagship show, and its new Universal championship, are headed.Culminating with Triple Hs surprise return to assist Kevin Owens?in the Fatal 4-Way elimination title match, the WWE successfully spun the bad luck of inaugural champion Finn Balors shoulder injury at SummerSlam into a buzzworthy set of Raw episodes that followed.That must-see trend will only continue into next weeks show, with fans excited to find the answer to the natural follow-up question: Where do we go from here?Lets take a closer look at the fallout for the principal participants in the WWE Universal championship title picture:Kevin OwensA former indie star, Owens has acted like he belonged from his first day on the main roster in May 2015, making it easy to forget just how meteoric his rise within the company has been in two short years.From powerbombing then-champion Sami Zayn?onto the ring apron on his first night in NXT to going over John Cena?cleanly in his first month on Raw, there are elements to Owens career arc that make the timing of him winning the Universal championship a logical one.Thats why, even though he fell into the belt in an opportunistic manner, both in storyline and real life, Owens wearing the companys most prestigious title is still a safer play for WWE than giving Balor the belt in the first place.As decorated worldwide as Balor was before being hired by WWE, he is smaller, less charismatic on the microphone and less proven on the brightest stage than Owens. While both represent this new era WWE is ambitiously trying to project, Owens style and presentation is more classic and versatile.Giving Owens the title is also an easier play for WWE based on its heavy reliance upon booking storylines involving The Authoritys control on the companys marquee title (often to their own detriment). While it might seem like Owens lone wolf mentality doesnt mesh with the idea of being controlled by the machine, credit WWE for indirectly planting seeds for this move in the past.During an episode of Raw last November, Triple H made the rounds backstage to various competitors of the WWE championship tournament, following Seth Rollins knee injury. He pitched the idea of working with The Authority to double-cross Roman Reigns. Owens looked particularly interested in what Triple H had to say, which is consistent with his characters opportunistic nature as a heel.In fact, there was a video package featuring a quote from Rollins this past Monday that might have summed it up perfectly.People call me an opportunist ... like its an insult, Rollins said. Its not an insult.The quote could just as easily have been attributed to Owens, whose persona is even more believable as a diabolic and unrepentant heel than Rollins, which is why giving Owens the title was the WWEs best move.Will Owens title reign end up being transitional like Sheamus was?last fall, or as unexpectedly epic as what Rollins accomplished all of last year? Its difficult to predict, but bet against Owens at your own risk.With his quick wit, deceptively agile style and meatball-shaped body, previously thought to be a deterrent from ever reaching the mountain top, Owens has all the tools to be a memorable champion with an opportunity to find out how great he can be.Seth RollinsWhen it comes to booking pro wrestling, theres an old adage that theres more money in putting the title on the heel and forcing a top babyface to chase it.dddddddddddd In that regard, Owens is the best pure heel that the company has, with legitimate old-school qualities to his swagger.So whos the biggest money babyface currently on the Raw roster who makes the most sense to pair him against?Unfortunately for WWE, it still isnt Reigns, at least not outside of the family-friendly confines of house shows. His brand hasnt properly recovered from the companys stubborn insistence on booking him as the second coming of John Cena, and in a manner thats the opposite of organic.The answer is Rollins, whose character has no choice but to turn babyface after the manner in which he was double-crossed by Triple H and The Authority on Monday.Its far from a leap to predict an Owens-Rollins feud would make for great television, not just for the in-ring payoff at pay-per-views, but the microphone work of both during the buildup. It would also be just as fun to watch whether Rollins can get over as a good-guy singles wrestler the same way he did as a heel.Considering Rollins talent and his deserving distinction as the No. 1 pick in Julys brand-split draft, theres no reason to suggest he cant. Following his recovery from a devastating knee injury last November, documented by WWE Network cameras for its WWE 24 series, Rollins was met with cheers during his May 23 return on Raw from a Baltimore crowd that appeared ready to hail him as a returning babyface.When you take into account everything Rollins has done for The Authority, both in storyline and in real life, as a fighting champion who carried the ball almost single-handedly at times in 2015, building sympathy from the crowd for his current demise shouldnt be a factor. Todays generation of fans is smart enough to know a transcendent talent when they see one.Roman ReignsWWE is at its best when storylines blend perfectly with the real-life struggles and tension going on behind the scenes. Its because of this that, for now, Reigns needs to stay as far away from the Universal title picture as possible.There will come a day when Reigns current demise will feel like a thing of the past, and his incredible talent and look will overshadow the crowds reaction to his booking. But for now, the irony of him being constantly double-crossed on-screen by the McMahon family, only to be seemingly given royal treatment by them behind the scenes, is a level of disbelief most fans arent willing to suspend.By all accounts, WWE doesnt appear ready to admit defeat and truly allow Reigns character to blossom naturally as a heel. Because of that, more seasoning on the second tier as a babyface is needed, just as much as time is, in order to win over cynically hardened fans one match at a time.The best remedy for Reigns is a return to his feud with United States champion Rusev, which essentially hit pause when the two fought to a no-contest at SummerSlam in an ill-conceived comedown match before the main event.Reigns and Rusev are money together in the ring, and the presence of Lana?has allowed Reigns to exercise his comedic muscles that still need some work. Placing the U.S. title around his waist in a memorable feud is the best kind of rehab assignment available to Reigns, and a strong precursor to future opportunities against the likes of Owens and Brock Lesnar?down the road. ' ' '