Losing fizz, and a footballing whizz

	End of an innings: Sachin Tendulkar has been dropped by Pepsi after almost a decade © Getty Images Enlarge

The old order changeth
The times they are a-changin', and though it's not really the done thing to mention Sachin Tendulkar in anything other than a glowing light for fear of the mailbag repercussions, could it be that his star really is fading? He may still be cutting it on the pitch but maybe a soft-drinks company knows better, considering it has axed him from its roster of celebrity endorsers, according to recent newspaper reports. To promote its new Young India campaign, the company has picked Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma to inject some fizz while Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly were turfed out earlier this year.

The Don is still the Don
No such worries about the esteem in which Australians hold their sporting god, however. Don Bradman is still Australia's best-loved international sporting star according to a newspaper poll. One in three voted for Sir Don, which just begs the question where the other votes were going. Not to Shane Warne or Merv Hughes, it turns out, but cyclist Cadel Evans and tennis' Rod Laver.

Footballing fame
Ganguly may have been deemed to be too flat to advertise cola, but he's set to be a football star - of sorts. He has been signed up for Chirag United in the I-League, starting in September, in a bid to add some gloss to the league and to publicise Chirag Computers, for whom he is the brand ambassador. Whether he's much good at football or not doesn't seem to be too much of an issue, however, as Chirag chairman Kaustav Roy has revealed: "Ganguly's presence in a football match will be a star attraction. Maybe he'll play for a two-minute slot."

Long handle, short memory
It was, admittedly, a magnificent century - and practically predictable, as the determined Kevin Pietersen rose to crush South Africa's bowlers at Lord's in the first Test. "I feel as English as anybody, and I absolutely love it!" shouted Kevin "Three Lions On His Arm" Pietersen, with all the unnerving vigour of Tom Cruise jumping over Oprah's couch to declare his love for Katie Holmes. "The crowd just kept going. I had to pull away again and say thank you and show my appreciation. That makes me feel oh-so-loved now," he added, suddenly breaking into a rousing rendition of "Jerusalem" before demanding a roast dinner and a pint of ale. But wait, could this be the same Englishman who but a month ago turned to a journalist and said, upon explaining that he gets sent pictures of naked women by fans: "Look, it's your nation, not mine"? Hmm.

From batting brilliance to batting bombs...
Women's cricket is always fighting for publicity but Netherlands' latest effort may seem more like an own goal: they slumped to 22 all out against West Indies, earning the unenviable record of lowest women's ODI total ever. The top-scorer, Helmien Rambaldo, made 5, extras 6, while there were 11 embarrassed faces. Just three days later, though, you could have forgiven Netherlands a touch of schadenfreude as West Indies sank to the tenth-lowest total, when England bowled them out for 41.

Army promotion not so barmy
Most people get a stand named after them for a sporting accolade, others if they're lucky get an MBE. But could this be the first time a player has had a promotion in the military? Ajantha Mendis will now be addressed as Second Lieutenant Mendis, if you don't mind, after he was elevated to that rank by the Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also the Commander in Chief of the country's armed forces. Mendis was previously a gunner in the Sri Lanka Army's artillery unit and is the only serviceman in the national cricket team.

Headlines of the Week
"SL put up tre-Mendis show in final, concedes Dhoni"
The Karachi-based Dawn newspaper in punning form after the Asia Cup final

"India MenDismissed"
The Times of India with a variation on a theme