Hendon: The week that was

Eurosport commentator David Hendon looks back on the week that was, including Rory McLeod's win at the Masters qualifying event.

So well done to Rory McLeod for winning the Masters qualifying event.

His career seems to have blossomed much later than you would expect. Rory's 38 now but in the last year made three successive centuries against Ronnie O'Sullivan at the UK Championship, qualified for the Crucible for the first time and is now Wembley bound.

A Wellingborough boy of Jamaican parents, McLeod now lives in Qatar.

During the Masters qualifiers he spent time between matches listening to verses from the Koran in an attempt to relax himself. It obviously worked and he now waits to see whether he will play Mark Williams or Mark King.

This will depend on who the other wildcard is. Liang Wenbo is hot favourite and will surely only miss out if there is a shock winner of the UK Championship.

You will recall McLeod and King played out a long, often tedious match at the World Championship last season that went into an extra session, so if they are paired together again I fear for the sanity of whoever is making the decision.

Better to pair McLeod with Williams and King with Liang.

Not that Rory will care who he plays. Snooker professionals at all levels are well used to the setbacks and disappointments that inevitably come as part and parcel of a sporting career.

This, though, is a moment to relish.

The Masters is the game's most prestigious invitation tournament and to many players second only to the World Championship in terms of prestige.

Stephen Hendry won it a record six times and has appeared in a record nine finals.

He likes a record, does Stephen, just as he likes a trophy.

On Sunday he won his 74th in defeating Ken Doherty 5-3 to win the first 110sport Legends event in Glenrothes.

I can report it was a fun weekend, although the action was serious as the old warhorses locked horns once again.

I was alarmed by the sight of a frail Alex Higgins unable to produce any sort of form but cheered by Cliff Thorburn's warmth towards him and the Canadian's general charisma.

Hendry was a fitting winner, given that his legendary status cannot be questioned.

He remains snooker's greatest ever player. Tony Drago, with whom I did some commentary, also pointed out that he has profoundly changed snooker.

"Stephen is the most attacking player I have ever played. All the players who have come since have copied him," he said.

While we were enjoying ourselves in Scotland, Ricky Walden was out pounding the streets as he completed the New York marathon in a time of four hours, 17 minutes.

That sounds pretty good to me and Ricky raised around £1,500 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Meanwhile, the WPBSA board member, Jim McMahon, made an attempt to broker peace in the civil war afflicting Scottish amateur snooker and came very close, but the old order - having agreed on a way forward with the rival group - reneged on it at the last minute.

The WPBSA understandably withdrew from the mediation process and have now taken away the main tour place for Scotland.

While I was in Scotland I heard nothing but bad things about those who have been running Scottish Snooker for the last few years.

Their actions have now resulted in the young Scottish players they are supposed to be representing suffering the ignominy of not having a place on the circuit to play for.

If this doesn't galvanise action north of the border, surely nothing will.

Next up in November is Pro Challenge Series event three in Leicester, followed by the UK Championship qualifiers.

Also, the IBSF world amateur championship takes place in India, starting on the 15th.

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NPB Japanese Baseball Draft Winners: Hiroshima Carp

The Hiroshima Carp came away from the NPB Japanese baseball draft the hands down winners on Thursday. After swiping up Ren Nakata last year from hometown Koryo High School, the Carp added to their young pitching corps by snagging Takeru Imamura from Seiho High School with their first pick, and adding pitcher Shota Dobayashi from Koshien winners Chukyo High School in round two. Imamura is thought to be the second best player in the draft behing Yusei Kikuchi, who was awared to the Seibu Lions by lottery.

If that was not impressive enough, in the third round they grabbed Hisashi Takeuchi, arguably one of the best pitchers at the college level from Hosei University and infielder Hayato Shoji from Tokoha Kikukawa High School in Shizuoka, who improved his stock greatly in the 2009 Koshien tournament.

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Afridi inspires Pakistan to crushing victory

ABU DHABI: Shahid Afridi smashed 70 off 50 deliveries and took two wickets Tuesday to lead Pakistan to a 138-run win over New Zealand in the first one-day international.

Afridi put on 101 in less than 15 overs with Kamran Akmal, who made 67 not out from 43 balls, to help Pakistan reach 287-9 after having lost two wickets for no runs at the start of its innings.

Akmal belted five boundaries and four sixes, while Afridi hammered four fours and three sixes.

Khalid Latif, playing in only his second ODI and replacing the more experienced Shoaib Malik, made 64 from 112 balls.

Afridi was then one of four Pakistan bowlers to take two wickets, finishing with 2-46 as New Zealand was dismissed for 149 with more than 10 overs remaining at the neutral venue of Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

Aaron Redmond top-scored with 52 for New Zealand, while captain Daniel Vettori made 38.
Captain Younis Khan hailed the victory as a ‘complete team performance.’

‘We started on the wrong foot, but luckily Afridi and Akmal did the job for us,’ he said.

Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal put on 54 in 15 overs to rebuild Pakistan's innings after fast bowler Shane Bond dismissed opener Salman Butt and captain Younis Khan in his first two overs.

Yousuf was then run out by Martin Guptill as he hesisted for a quick single, and Umar Akmal was bowled by an arm ball from Vettori to leave Pakistan were 75-4 in the 24th over.

Afridi, the captain of Pakistan's Twenty20 side, and Latif then picked up the momentum. Afridi brought up his 30th half-century in only 37 balls, hitting across the line on a flat pitch with plenty of bounce to step up the run rate.

Latif had a slice of luck on 34 when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum down the leg side.

Only Jacob Oram kept his composure as Afridi cut loose despite just returning from a hamstring injury.
Afridi departed in the 42nd over, moving across for a paddle sweep but holing out to Ian Butler at short fine leg off Oram.

That left Pakistan on 176, and Latif was out eight runs later after deflecting a ball from Vettori on to his stumps.

Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq (26 from 20 balls) helped Pakistan score 104 runs in the last nine overs.

Bond finished with 2-61, while New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori took 2-34.

New Zealand also made a sedate start after a tight spell by new ball bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul. Both worked up decent pace. Aamer, hailed as the next Akram, was particularly impressive with his first seven overs costing only 15 runs.

He bowled Brendon McCullum for 21 and Martin Guptill for 4 within two overs after both tried to force the pace.

Younis' persistence with Aamer also paid off as Ross Taylor was caught behind for 0 by Kamran Akmal to an angling delivery to leave New Zealand on 35-3 in the 11th over.

Scott Styris went for 5 only 15 runs later, caught by substitute Imran Farhat off Abdul Razzaq. Redmond and Vettori then provided some brief resistance with their right-left hand batting combination adding 69 runs for the fifth wicket.

Offspinner Saeed Ajmal provided the breakthrough, trapping Redmond lbw.

It was then Afridi's turn to strike as Vettori played on to his stumps and Nathan McCullum was bowled next delivery. The hat trick was saved but the Blacks Caps caved in, the last six wickets adding only 30 runs.

Vettori said the total was too much to chase.

‘We were on course to restrict them to 220-230 but Afridi and Akmal were fantastic,’ Vettori said. ‘They took the game from us.

‘After losing early wickets it was always going to be difficult. We thought if we could keep the target to 100 from the last 10 overs we could get there with the help of batting powerplay.’

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Pakistan overwhelm Russia 5-0 in qualifiers

KARACHI: It was smooth sailing again for favourites Pakistan in the World Cup hockey qualifiers on Sunday as they overwhelmed Russia 5-0 at the Metropole Hockey Club in the French city of Lille.

According to the information received here, Pakistan, who won their opening match against Italy on Saturday by the same score line, led 3-0 at interval.

Experienced striker Rehan Butt opened the account for Pakistan through an individual field attempt in the 23rd minute followed by another field goal by frontrunner Shakeel Abbasi in the 31st minute. Sohail Abbas also did his bit by converting a 33rd-minute penalty-corner.

The second session saw Pakistan scoring twice with centre-half Mohammad Imran (37th minute) and centre-forward Abdul Haseem Khan (43rd minute) scoring through a penalty-corner and a field goal, respectively.

In Sunday’s remaining fixtures, Japan, who trounced Russia 4-0 on Saturday, easily defeated Poland 3-2 with all the goals coming in the first half while hosts France beat Italy 3-0 after leading by a solitary goal at the interval.

Meanwhile, France were held to a 2-2 draw by Poland in Saturday’s last match.

Pakistan and Japan have each collected six points with the former on top on goal difference. France have four points and Poland one. Monday is a rest day in the tournament.

Tuesday’s fixtures: Italy v Japan; Poland v Russia; Pakistan v France.

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Pakistan v New Zealand 2009/10 / Scorecard

Pakistan v New Zealand

Pakistan won by 138 runs

• ODI no. 2921 | 2009/10 season
• Played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi (neutral venue)
• 3 November 2009 - day/night (50-over match)

	Pakistan innings (50 overs maximum)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	Salman Butt	c †BB McCullum b Bond	0	4	0	0	0.00
	0.4 Salman Butt's comeback doesn't quite last long. Bondy has struck. It was a back-of-length delivery that moved away from the stumps and Butt was almost squared-up as he pushed at it and edged it behind. Fine delivery. 0/1
	Khalid Latif	b Vettori	64	112	2	0	57.14
	41.1 cleaned him up with the vicious arm-ball. It skidded on from the leg and middle, Latif was looking for the cut but only managed to stab it to the leg stump. Patient innings, whose value will probably only be known after New Zealand bat, comes to an end. Did he play too slowly? Or did he play a very good knock on this pitch? We just have to wait for the chase to find out. 184/6
	Younis Khan*	c †BB McCullum b Bond	0	3	0	0	0.00
	2.1 Bondy! Full delivery outside off stump, curves away, Younis chased it, going for a flamboyant square drive but only succeeded in edging it behind 0/2
	Mohammad Yousuf	run out (Guptill)	30	49	4	0	61.22
	16.6 from Oram, Yousuf is run out. It was pushed towards cover point and they run across for the single. Guptill does a superb job, moving to his left , picks up the ball and fires in a direct hit at the non-strikers' end/. Gone! 57/3
	Umar Akmal	b Vettori	9	18	0	0	50.00
	23.3 what a lovely delivery. It was a tad quicker, landed on a length around the middle stump line, Umar tried to drive but the ball dipped on him before spinning past the blade to hit the off stump. 75/4
	Shahid Afridi	c Butler b Oram	70	50	4	3	140.00
	38.2 Oh boy what has happened here. He moved outside off stump, fetched the full toss from well outside off and paddled it straight to short fine-leg fielder. But what an entertaining, yet responsible knock. Lovely mix of fun and work. 176/5
	Kamran Akmal†	not out	67	43	5	4	155.81
	Abdul Razzaq	c Styris b Butler	26	20	1	2	130.00
	48.2 fullish delivery, in the slot, Razzaq goes for the big hit down the ground but skies it straight up towards cover. More elevation than distance. Styris came under the ball, juggled it a bit before holding on. Fine cameo from Razzaq. 270/7
	Umar Gul	run out (Vettori/Butler)	0	1	0	0	0.00
	48.4 from Butler, Umar Gul is run out. It was pushed to cover and Akmal called him for a single but Gul couldn't get across in time to beat the throw 271/8
	Mohammad Aamer	c †BB McCullum b Southee	0	1	0	0	0.00
	49.1 short of length delivery, bounces to catch the edge and a simple catch to Baz 277/9
	Saeed Ajmal	not out	0	1	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(lb 8, w 11, nb 2)	21
	Total	(9 wickets; 50 overs)	287	(5.74 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-0 (Salman Butt, 0.4 ov), 2-0 (Younis Khan, 2.1 ov), 3-57 (Mohammad Yousuf, 16.6 ov), 4-75 (Umar Akmal, 23.3 ov), 5-176 (Shahid Afridi, 38.2 ov), 6-184 (Khalid Latif, 41.1 ov), 7-270 (Abdul Razzaq, 48.2 ov), 8-271 (Umar Gul, 48.4 ov), 9-277 (Mohammad Aamer, 49.1 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	SE Bond	10	2	61	2	6.10	(3w)
	0.4 to Salman Butt, Salman Butt's comeback doesn't quite last long. Bondy has struck. It was a back-of-length delivery that moved away from the stumps and Butt was almost squared-up as he pushed at it and edged it behind. Fine delivery. 0/1 2.1 to Younis Khan, Bondy! Full delivery outside off stump, curves away, Younis chased it, going for a flamboyant square drive but only succeeded in edging it behind 0/2
	TG Southee	10	2	54	1	5.40
	49.1 to Mohammad Aamer, short of length delivery, bounces to catch the edge and a simple catch to Baz 277/9
	IG Butler	7	0	54	1	7.71	(2nb, 2w)
	48.2 to Abdul Razzaq, fullish delivery, in the slot, Razzaq goes for the big hit down the ground but skies it straight up towards cover. More elevation than distance. Styris came under the ball, juggled it a bit before holding on. Fine cameo from Razzaq. 270/7
	JDP Oram	10	0	47	1	4.70	(1w)
	38.2 to Shahid Afridi, Oh boy what has happened here. He moved outside off stump, fetched the full toss from well outside off and paddled it straight to short fine-leg fielder. But what an entertaining, yet responsible knock. Lovely mix of fun and work. 176/5
	DL Vettori	10	1	34	2	3.40
	23.3 to Umar Akmal, what a lovely delivery. It was a tad quicker, landed on a length around the middle stump line, Umar tried to drive but the ball dipped on him before spinning past the blade to hit the off stump. 75/4 41.1 to Khalid Latif, cleaned him up with the vicious arm-ball. It skidded on from the leg and middle, Latif was looking for the cut but only managed to stab it to the leg stump. Patient innings, whose value will probably only be known after New Zealand bat, comes to an end. Did he play too slowly? Or did he play a very good knock on this pitch? We just have to wait for the chase to find out. 184/6
	NL McCullum	3	0	29	0	9.66

	New Zealand innings (target: 288 runs from 50 overs)		R	B	4s	6s	SR
	BB McCullum†	b Umar Gul	21	27	4	0	77.77
	7.4 And there we go. The first wicket has fallen. It was slightly short in length straightening outside off, McCullum tried to fetch it from there with a pull shot but dragged the ball on to the stumps. 30/1
	AJ Redmond	lbw b Saeed Ajmal	52	91	6	0	57.14
	29.3 Finally, Ajmal gets an lbw verdict in his favour. It was quicker, on the off stump line, skidding on straight, and Redmond missed the sweep and was hit on the off stump line. It would have crashed into the stumps. 119/5
	MJ Guptill	b Umar Gul	4	9	0	0	44.44
	9.2 Another fatal inside edge. It was a short of length delivery that skids on straight, Guptill was looking to defend but is late in getting the bat down, pushes it outside the line and it collides with the inside and ... timber! 34/2
	LRPL Taylor	c †Kamran Akmal b Mohammad Aamer	0	5	0	0	0.00
	10.2 the thickest of edges and he's gone! He fires it in outside off and angles it across the right-hander, Taylor chases it and shapes to carve it over extra cover but he gets a thick edge which thuds into Kamran's gloves 35/3
	SB Styris	c sub (Imran Farhat) b Abdul Razzaq	5	17	0	0	29.41
	15.1 Styris fan club would be disappointed. It was short in length and Styris pulled it high towards deep square-leg where Farhat (substitute) rushes to his left to pluck off a good catch 50/4
	DL Vettori*	b Shahid Afridi	38	41	1	0	92.68
	34.5 Afridi has broken through. It skidded away from Vettori who tried to sweep it but edges it back to the stumps 139/6
	JDP Oram	b Abdul Razzaq	9	23	1	0	39.13
	35.3 Yet another fatal inside edge from a New Zealand batsman. It was angling away from Oram who tries to force it on the up through covers but gets the big fat edge 139/8
	NL McCullum	lbw b Shahid Afridi	0	1	0	0	0.00
	34.6 Afridi .. whaddaplayaaa .. he did it with the bat and now doing the job with the ball. The slider this time, on the middle, looks to defend and is hit on the pad. The Hawk eye shows it missing leg and it might well be but when it struck him on the pad, it looked pretty ugly. you can understand why the ump gave that out 139/7
	IG Butler	run out (Umar Gul)	4	7	1	0	57.14
	37.2 from Abdul Razzaq, Butler is run out. Direct hit from Umar Gul. Good bye sir. It was pushed to left of mid-on where Gul swooped in on the ball and fires in a lovely throw. It has been referee upstairs and the verdict is out 144/9
	SE Bond	not out	4	9	0	0	44.44
	TG Southee	lbw b Saeed Ajmal	1	7	0	0	14.28
	39.2 All over. . It was the quicker one, skidding on rapidly towards the middle, moves past the attempted waft and nails him in front. . Pakistan won by 138 runs. Fine comprehensive win. 149/10
	Extras	(lb 8, w 2, nb 1)	11
	Total	(all out; 39.2 overs)	149	(3.78 runs per over)

Fall of wickets1-30 (BB McCullum, 7.4 ov), 2-34 (Guptill, 9.2 ov), 3-35 (Taylor, 10.2 ov), 4-50 (Styris, 15.1 ov), 5-119 (Redmond, 29.3 ov), 6-139 (Vettori, 34.5 ov), 7-139 (NL McCullum, 34.6 ov), 8-139 (Oram, 35.3 ov), 9-144 (Butler, 37.2 ov), 10-149 (Southee, 39.2 ov)

	Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Mohammad Aamer	7	1	15	1	2.14
	10.2 to Taylor, the thickest of edges and he's gone! He fires it in outside off and angles it across the right-hander, Taylor chases it and shapes to carve it over extra cover but he gets a thick edge which thuds into Kamran's gloves 35/3
	Umar Gul	6	3	24	2	4.00	(1nb)
	7.4 to BB McCullum, And there we go. The first wicket has fallen. It was slightly short in length straightening outside off, McCullum tried to fetch it from there with a pull shot but dragged the ball on to the stumps. 30/1 9.2 to Guptill, Another fatal inside edge. It was a short of length delivery that skids on straight, Guptill was looking to defend but is late in getting the bat down, pushes it outside the line and it collides with the inside and ... timber! 34/2
	Abdul Razzaq	9	1	38	2	4.22
	15.1 to Styris, Styris fan club would be disappointed. It was short in length and Styris pulled it high towards deep square-leg where Farhat (substitute) rushes to his left to pluck off a good catch 50/4 35.3 to Oram, Yet another fatal inside edge from a New Zealand batsman. It was angling away from Oram who tries to force it on the up through covers but gets the big fat edge 139/8
	Shahid Afridi	10	0	46	2	4.60	(2w)
	34.5 to Vettori, Afridi has broken through. It skidded away from Vettori who tried to sweep it but edges it back to the stumps 139/6 34.6 to NL McCullum, Afridi .. whaddaplayaaa .. he did it with the bat and now doing the job with the ball. The slider this time, on the middle, looks to defend and is hit on the pad. The Hawk eye shows it missing leg and it might well be but when it struck him on the pad, it looked pretty ugly. you can understand why the ump gave that out 139/7
	Saeed Ajmal	7.2	0	18	2	2.45
	29.3 to Redmond, Finally, Ajmal gets an lbw verdict in his favour. It was quicker, on the off stump line, skidding on straight, and Redmond missed the sweep and was hit on the off stump line. It would have crashed into the stumps. 119/5 39.2 to Southee, All over. . It was the quicker one, skidding on rapidly towards the middle, moves past the attempted waft and nails him in front. . Pakistan won by 138 runs. Fine comprehensive win. 149/10

Match details

Toss Pakistan, who chose to bat Series Pakistan led the 3-match series 1-0

Player of the match Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

Umpires Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and BNJ Oxenford (Australia) TV umpire Zameer Haider (Pakistan) Match referee AJ Pycroft (Zimbabwe) Reserve umpire Nadeem Ghauri (Pakistan)

Match notes

Pakistan innings Power Play 2: Overs 10.1 - 15.0 Drinks: Pakistan - 48/2 in 15.0 overs (Khalid Latif 21, Mohammad Yousuf 22) Pakistan: 50 runs in 16.3 overs (102 balls), Extras 5 3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 89 balls (Khalid Latif 22, Mohammad Yousuf 26, Ex 5) Pakistan: 100 runs in 28.5 overs (177 balls), Extras 6 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 45 balls (Khalid Latif 15, Shahid Afridi 34, Ex 1) Khalid Latif: 50 off 93 balls (2 x 4) Shahid Afridi: 50 off 36 balls (2 x 4, 3 x 6) Pakistan: 150 runs in 34.4 overs (212 balls), Extras 6 Drinks: Pakistan - 150/4 in 35.0 overs (Khalid Latif 54, Shahid Afridi 51) 5th Wicket: 100 runs in 90 balls (Khalid Latif 29, Shahid Afridi 70, Ex 2) Power Play 3: Overs 42.1 - 47.0 Pakistan: 200 runs in 43.1 overs (264 balls), Extras 7 7th Wicket: 50 runs in 33 balls (Kamran Akmal 32, Abdul Razzaq 12, Ex 8) Pakistan: 250 runs in 47.3 overs (292 balls), Extras 15 Kamran Akmal: 50 off 35 balls (5 x 4, 2 x 6) Innings Break: Pakistan - 287/9 in 50.0 overs (Kamran Akmal 67, Saeed Ajmal 0) New Zealand innings Power Play 2: Overs 10.1 - 15.0 New Zealand: 50 runs in 14.6 overs (91 balls), Extras 4 Drinks: New Zealand - 50/3 in 15.0 overs (AJ Redmond 16, SB Styris 5) New Zealand: 100 runs in 23.5 overs (145 balls), Extras 7 5th Wicket: 50 runs in 53 balls (AJ Redmond 26, DL Vettori 21, Ex 3) AJ Redmond: 50 off 82 balls (6 x 4) Power Play 3: Overs 39.1 - 44.0

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Aisam ul haq beat roger federer in double match

KARACHI: Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Swiss doubles partner James Cerritani brushed aside tennis great and world number one, Roger Federer and his Swiss compatriot Marco Chiudinelli in straight sets at the Basel Open in the Swiss city on Tuesday.

Qureshi was at his serve-and-volleying best in the round-of-32 match as he and Swiss Cerritani cruised to victory against the world number one Federer and Chidudinelli in two sets, 6-4, 6-3 to book their place in the quarter-finals of the 2.6 million-dollar ATP tournament.

Playing in the world number one’s hometown, the Pakistani player and his partner were in control of the match from the first game and although Federer and his old friend Chiudinelli produced moments of brilliance, the grit and powerful serve-and-volley game of Qureshi and Cerritani proved too much in the end.

The Pak-Swiss pair will now play tournament first seeds Daniel Nestor (Canada) and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) in the round of 16.

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2003 Ferrari Enzo

General Info
Price:	$643,330
Miles Per Gallon:	--- mpg
Curb Weight:	2767 lbs
Layout:	Mid-Engine/RWD
Transmission:	6-Speed Semi-Automatic
Engine
Type:	V12
Displacement:	5998 cc
Horsepower:	660 bhp @ 7800 rpm
Torque:	472 lb-ft @ 4700 rpm
Redline:	8200 rpm
Performance
0-60 mph:	3.6 sec
0-100 mph:	6.3 sec
Quarter Mile:	11 sec @ 130 mph
Skidpad:	---
Top Speed:	217 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph:	--- ft
Slalom Speed:	--- mph

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The Most Expensive Sports

One of the great things about sports is that anyone with at least a modicum of talent and a heart full of desire can participate competently at something regardless of the size of their bank account.

That's right: Despite what the marketing wizzes at Nike (nyse: NKE - news - people ) might lead you to believe, it doesn't take a $200 pair of Air Jordans to play a decent game of pick-up basketball, any more than it requires a $2,000 driver to land a lucky hole-in-one on No. 7 at Pebble Beach, or nearly a $100,000 Holland & Holland side-by-side to plug a partridge in mid-flight.

And yet, as anyone who has ever dabbled seriously at such pursuits knows, throwing money around can have a positive effect on your game. From boosting your confidence, comfort and ability levels, to inspiring awe--or, even better, intimidation--in your opponents, highest-end training and equipment can be a worthy investment.

Nowhere does this hold truer than in sports that are expensive by their very nature. An auto racer behind the wheel of the finest sports car money can buy, a racing yacht crewed by high-salaried and seasoned sailors, or a mountaineer trained by experts and outfitted in premium gear are all forces to be reckoned with, regardless of their opponents'--or mountain's--will to stop them.

"The benefit of expensive sporting assets is almost incalculable on the field of play," notes Rege Ludwig, former coach of the U.S. Polo Team, who now runs first-rate polo clinics from his base in Palm Springs, Calif. Ludwig illustrates his point with the tale of a high-goal professional polo player with a stable full of horses, including a favorite named Chessy. "Every time he was on Chessy, he would score two goals, no matter what. His skills were basically the same, but the way he used them were different, and he would try stuff on Chessy he wouldn't try on other horses. Opponents got so nervous when they saw the two together, they'd start worrying and stop playing their game."

The result? The owner of an opposing team offered £225,000 (about $405,000) for Chessy--not to ride him, but to keep the two apart. In the end, the player realized Chessy's value went well beyond money and refused to sell.

Of course, as anyone who wants to sink his change into expensive sports will quickly learn, high-priced assets are only part of the price. There's also the cost of maintaining those assets, as well as of moving them around from one event to the next. A vintage Ferrari or Bentley not only has to get to the track and back each weekend, but must also be maintained before, during and after every race. A cycling team may ride like the wind, but only if it has transportation capable of hauling both bikes and riders to the starting line. And nobody can compete in anything without the necessary membership fees, licenses, and insurance to qualify them in the first place. How fast can such costs add up? You'd be amazed.

To give you a good idea of what you're getting yourself into as you pursue high-priced excellence on the field, we've compiled some of the world's most expensive sports and the anticipated costs should you bankroll them yourself. Presented on a "give-or-take" basis, they reflect actual prices and authoritative estimates. Just remember--no matter how much money you throw at a sport, it still takes heart to win.

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