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The older I get, the better I was goes a familiar saying, referring to the human tendency to embellish the past and exaggerate ones abilities in a now-distant youth. I am often reminded of this when I encounter references to Indias alleged glory days in the 1970s, when, one may be led to believe, the side were world beaters.According to this myth, the quartet of great spinners - Chandra, Bedi, Prasanna and Venkat - backed by sharp close-in fielders and doughty batsmen made India a formidable opponent, especially at home.A nine-year-old who became a fan of the game the moment GR Viswanath hit that debut century against Bill Lawrys visiting Australians in the 1969-70 series, I was a keen witness to the decade that followed, and humbly suggest a fair amount of selective recall has rendered that era a tad more glorious than it really was.It would be churlish to deny that India did well to win in the West Indies and in England in 1971. But what followed thereafter is difficult to describe as great on any comparative yardstick. The MCC team that toured India in 1972-73 had exactly two Test players with any real experience - Derek Underwood and Alan Knott. Regulars like Geoff Boycott, John Snow, Bob Willis, John Edrich, Ray Illingworth, Basil DOliveira and others had either chosen to skip the subcontinent, retired, or been dropped on form.They were led by Tony Lewis, who was yet to play a Test match, and their top order was composed mainly of batsmen who had failed to establish themselves over the years (Dennis Amiss, Keith Fletcher, Mike Denness) or were just a few Tests old (Barry Wood and Tony Greig, for instance). Medium-pacer Geoff Arnold, himself a non-regular in the England team, was joined by Bob Cottam (playing his third Test) and Chris Old (yet to make his debut). Underwood was supported by three other spinners, who were best described as journeymen - Pat Pocock, Norman Gifford and Jack Birkenshaw.Despite the evident weakness of the MCC side, India managed to lose the first Test quite badly. They beat the visitors in Calcutta by 28 runs in a low-scoring thriller, and almost made a meal of chasing a mere 86 to win at Chepauk. The series was effectively over after the third Test since the featherbeds in Kanpur and Bombay spelled draws. While Indias spinners, especially Chandra, took the lions share of the wickets, the 2-1 win was hardly indicative of any greatness on Indias part.When India returned to England in the summer of 1974, they were trounced so badly that it hurts to recall it even now. In the course of three Tests, they lost 60 wickets (well, 59 - an injured Chandra did not bat in the infamous 42 at Lords), while England lost 24 - only two in the third Test - and won the second and third Tests by an innings each. Indias spinners were completely ineffective in the first half of a cold English summer and their batsmen simply unable to play the moving ball. While we proudly recall coming back from 2-0 down to level the home series against Clive Lloyds West Indies in the 1974-75 series (before losing the decider at the Wankhede), we tend to forget how inexperienced Indias opponents were. Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards had yet to play a Test, and Andy Roberts had just made his debut at the time. Only Lloyd, Lance Gibbs and Roy Fredericks had played much Test cricket at all. With their experienced spin quartet ostensibly in their prime, and bowling in home conditions, India were favourites going in, yet lost the series.This was followed by back-to-back tours to New Zealand and the West Indies. India tied 1-1 with New Zealand in a three-Test series, and lost 1-2 against West Indies, the lone win of that tour being the record chase of 403 in Trinidad. That West Indian team had just been hammered 5-1 by the Australians, and two of Indias four Tests were played in Port-of-Spain, where the wicket was known to be both slow and ideal for spinners.When Greig led an England team to India later in 1976, once again the hosts began as firm favourites but proceeded to lose the first three Tests. England showed that patience and occupation of the crease were the secrets to succeeding on the slow tracks, and their tight bowling lines directed away from the strengths of Indias batsmen ensured a steady supply of wickets for their largely faceless bowling attack. Another home series lost.Perhaps the definitive indicator of the real worth of the Indian team back then was the tour to Australia in 1977-78. The Australians were severely depleted by the desertion of all their main cricketers, barring Jeff Thomson, to Packers World Series Cricket, and were effectively fielding a 2nd or even 3rd XI, led by Bob Simpson, who had come back after retiring from Test cricket a decade prior. Six Australians made their debuts in the first Test. Indias bowling attack included Chandra, Bedi and Prasanna, yet they lost by 16 runs. They also proceeded to lose the second (with Venkat replacing Prasanna), where nightwatchman Tony Mann, playing the second Test of his career, made a century to help Australia chase down 339. India did well to come back to level the series but eventually lost 3-2 - against a team that was, to put things in perspective, beaten 5-1 at home the next season by England.In October-November 1978, India lost 2-0 in a series in Pakistan that effectively finished tje spin quartet (even if some of them played on for a few more Tests). Later that season India prevailed 1-0 in a six-Test home series against Alvin Kallicharrans Packer-depleted West Indians. The sole victory amid five boring draws came at Chepauk, where India lost seven wickets on the way to chasing down 125.It is not my intention to query the skills of those players, or to deny that India had their moments of individual and team glory. Its rather to put those accomplishments back then in a comparative perspective in assessing their true worth. Most importantly, its to guard against that all-too-human tendency to view the past through rose-tinted lenses. Cheap Jordans From China . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Cheap Air Jordan . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. http://www.cheapjordanschinawholesale.com/cheap-air-jordan-2-china-wholesale-117e.html .C. at the helm of the top team in the Eastern Conference. His tenure as the GM in Vancouver was all too brief. Though he led the Canucks to what was then a franchise record-shattering campaign in just his second season, Nonis was gone and replaced one year later. Cheap Air Jordan 1 China Wholesale . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Discount Air Jordan Sale . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The celebration was a bit messy. That tends to happen when history is made.?As Jimmie Johnsons Chevy blew burnout smoke along the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch and his crew hugged it out behind him, the ticket buyers bum-rushed the gates. Race fans funneled through an opening in the catch fence that lines the grandstand and poured over the shoulder-high wall that separates pit road from the racing surface. By the time track workers had set up the stairs to aid their climb, it was too late. They were on the track by the hundreds. And only a few of them wore Jimmie Johnson gear. That did not matter.?I thought people were supposed to not like Jimmie, right? observed Johnsons employer, Rick Hendrick. I said on Friday that I felt like a guy like him wouldnt be appreciated until his career was done.The just-crowned 12-time champion car owner looked over the still-growing crowd being showered in confetti.But it looks like they are doing a pretty good job of appreciating him right now, doesnt it? Hendrick said.? ?Johnson, the 41-year-old Californian, outran the field on a wild final restart, holding off two of his four fellow championship competitors, as well as Kyle Larson, the noncontender who had dominated the 400-mile event. With the win, Johnson became only the seventh driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to reach 80 wins. That was merely his second-most impressive record of the night -- a distant second.?Johnsons seventh Cup title places him alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt to share the most coveted line of the stock car racing record book. His march to that accomplishment has not been easy.He grew up on the low end of the income scale in Southern California, where he became a desert rat, an off-road truck racer. His personality and work ethic endeared him to the builder of those trucks, Chevrolet, and it pushed him into stock cars.He moved east and slept on other racers couches while working to find his NASCAR footing. When Jeff Gordon was wowed by Johnsons fearless style while driving second-tier Busch Series (think Triple-A baseball) equipment, he impossibly tabbed the kid to drive for the team he was cofounding with Hendrick.No one -- especially not Johnson -- foresaw the near-immediate success that followed.?Yet, somewhere along the way, Johnsons story became twisted, from the blue-collar truth into a silver spoon myth. Some of that was rooted in his ride. Hendrick Motorsports is the New York Yankees of NASCAR. More money, more resources ... so, no way the driver could actually be great, right??Petty heard the same complaints in the 1960s and 1970s as he blew past the records set by NASCARs pioneers, including his father, three-time champion Lee Petty. But by the time he won his seventh Cup in 1979, he was the sports most beloved figure.?Earnhardt dealt with even more vicious criticism, directed at his steel-toed driving style and a perception that he was handed multiple advantages by Chevy and even NASCAR. It is conveniently forgotten to history now, but when The Intimidator clinched his seventh Cup at Rockingham, North Carolina, in 1994, the crowd reacted with as many boos as cheers.How dare that scofflaw tie The King!But eventually, even the naysayers embraced Earnhardts greatness.?I think you end up getting what you deserve, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained, having just left a stage celebration that included his teammates, Gordon and Johnson, as well as a conga line of visits from Tony Stewart, who had just finished his final Cup race, and Kyle Busch, a former Hendrick teammate and one of the fellow title contenders Johnson had to hold off at the end.I think peoplee are coming around, Earnhardt said.dddddddddddd Hes always had a great understanding with his people, his fans. Now others are realizing how great he is.?I can tell you this, Earnhardt continued. I have no doubt that you can take Jimmie, my dad and Richard Petty and they would have won championships races whenever and wherever they raced. If Jimmie had raced against Dad, Dad wouldnt have won seven championships; and if Dad had raced against Jimmie, he wouldnt have won seven championships.Again, I think people are coming around. I hope so.?? ?????? ?Thats why Hendrick said what he did on Friday -- that Johnson would be appreciated only through the rearview mirror of time. But the crowd that climbed and shoved its way into his celebration on Sunday night never uttered as much as one boo. Instead, there was thunderous applause, from the grandstand in front of him to the skyboxes behind him.?There was no shortage of questions about how this title was earned. The caution flag that set up the madness -- a pair of late restarts and a red flag -- created plenty of online outrage.Austin Petty, grandson of Richard, tweeted that NASCAR was doing all it could to help Johnson win. (Petty later took the tweet down.) On any other night during Johnsons career, that would have been the prevailing sentiment. Come Monday morning, when sports talk call-in shows crank up, it might be again.?But thats not what the Homestead crowd was running with on Sunday evening. They were running with their smartphone camera apps open, eager to capture the moment.Before the race, when they put the four of us [Cup contenders] in the truck to do a lap around the track, usually I get flipped off, like a lot, Johnson recalled of traditional parade laps. I mean, I get flipped everywhere, every state, no matter where we are. So today, I looked up and they had their hands up, and I realized they werent holding up one finger. They were holding up seven -- so maybe, with what we were trying to do, no matter what hat they were wearing, we had their support today.?Earlier in the day, around the team transporter of Richard Pettys famous No. 43 team, there was a lot of talk about history and what it might mean should Johnson match their boss famous mark.The crew chief for all of Pettys titles, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Inman, embraced the idea. (Its likely easier for him to take because he actually has eight titles, winning another with Terry Labonte.) Standing alongside Inman was his nephew, racer-turned-NBC analyst Kyle Petty.The Kings son got visual with his explanation of it all, using a Sharpie to sketch out various peaks to show the eras of his father, Earnhardt and Johnson, with connectors of the others -- the one-, two-, three- and four-time champs.Its like looking at a mountain range, Kyle Petty said. Theres plenty to look at, but the tallest peaks are pretty obvious arent they? It makes it impossible not to notice those guys.??? ?On Sunday night, amid the crushing throng on the Homestead-Miami Speedway frontstretch, they were certainly noticing and perhaps -- finally -- appreciating Jimmie Johnsons ascension to one of those all-time pinnacles.?Honestly, Im a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan, and Ive always hated Jimmie Johnsons ass, said Bill Lindon of Ocala, Florida, one of those fans who had pushed his way to the edge of the temporary stage NASCAR rolled out atop the start-finish line. But this is a chance to see something thats only happened twice before.I can still think hes great even if I still hate his ass, right? ' ' '