Chennai lad Vishnu Sujeesh saw off a late challenge by Dheer Singh to clinch the first ever Topper Nationals in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Renowned sailor Ayaz Shaikh continued his unchallenged surge towards glory at the Match Racing category of the 2013 Monsoon Regatta at the Hussainsagar Lake in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Few products sell without advertisements. In a world where customers are spoilt for choices, good marketing gives a product an edge often regar-dless of its true quality or utility. The same is true in football. The Abu Dhabi royal family’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan knows that very well too.

The Principality of Monaco, a ‘micronation’ caressed by the Mediterranean waters on its sea face and embraced by France on the land, has long been of a great interest to economists. The tiny nation — with its famous casinos, one of the highest per-head GDP and streets filled with billionaires, thanks to it’s zero-income tax policy — is an ideal place to analyse flow of money.

It is often the case that the brightest Spanish talents head to Barcelona or Real Madrid. Any Spaniard who has consistently won accolades for his on-field abilities inevitably joins one of the Big Two, very rarely has it been otherwise.

As the 2012-13 season nears its end, European giants are busy firing managers and scouting players for the next. As has been the case for some years now, this transfer window too will be dominated by talks of potential moves by the Bales, and the Neymars.

July 1, 2013, will mark a new chapter for Manchester United. The Red Devils, for the first time in almost 27 years, will be in a team meeting headed by someone not called Sir Alex Ferguson.

Bayern Munich have staked their claim on the ‘world’s best’ tag with the 4-0 destruction of Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal first leg. Whether they confirm the anointment by winning the coveted title this season or not, only time will tell.

It’s often said that when South Americans make that big move from their ‘hometown clubs’ to the English Premier League, they need one or two seasons just to settle in. The pace and the style of English football can be ‘too alien’ for those skilful youngsters.

Football can sometimes be odd. Despite all the resilience of Manchester United, the firepower of their neighbours City, new-found — but often found wanting — flair of Chelsea and the perpetual youthfulness of Arsenal, the 37-year-old David Beckham is England’s only remaining representative in the Champions League.