Mayweather-Ortiz shows Floyd true side - good, crude, and rude

I spent P501 yesterday to watch the satellite feed of the Ortiz-Mayweather tiff at the Gateway Cinema. It was money well spent. The undercard was superb. I finally got the chance to see young Mexican legend in the making, Saul Canelo Alvarez, fight. His handlers seem to take good care of his young career, careful not to feed him to the old lions just yet. At this point, he still doesn't have what it takes to get past the likes of Cotto and the other veteran super welterweights.

I also got to see Erik Morales fight again. At this stage of his resurrected career, watching him fight is like watching an old Erik Morales fight in slow motion. His body, though not flabby, doesn't have the abs present in most other 140 pounder. His is the body of an old man. He won convincingly against a late substitute but not after being threatened in the early rounds. I'm glad he won the race to be the first Mexican to win titles in 4 weight divisions. He does not have the same arrogance exhibited by Barrera and Marquez.

Now the Mayweather-Ortiz fight started out as the mismatch indicated by the 5-1 fight odds. No matter how hard Ortiz tried, he cannot get inside the crafty defense of Floyd Jr while getting repeatedly pummeled with hard rights. In the 4th, he managed to get Floyd on the ropes but he was still not connecting cleanly. In a fit of disgust, maybe, he intentionally head butted Floyd, promptly earning him a point deduction. Then the bizarre happened. He apologized-kissed Floyd-touched gloves-tried to kiss Floyd again-while the referee glanced towards the timekeeper-and-BOOM-BOOM-Floyd connects with a 1-2 left right combo that floors him.The left photo shows a clueless Joe Cortez.

It was not an illegal punch. The headbutt was illegal. But the ending soured further Floyd's image. It was sucker punch, but worse than the one Floyd did to Mosley. And of course Ortiz, with a guaranteed  US$2.5 million, won't protest the outcome. It was inevitable anyway. The bizarre events just made ended it sooner.

The fight should be an eye opener for the PacMan-Roach tandem. They should prepare for Floyd's fast right straights. They should plan ways to penetrate the shifty shoulder rolls. And most importantly Pac should learn to always put his hands up to prevent those sucker punches. In the Mosley fight, PacMan acceded to all the Mosley touch glove gestures. Against Floyd, he should touch gloves with arms straight out in front.

I stayed on to watch the post-fight interview. Floyd went into an expletive laden rant against veteran broadcaster Larry Merchant. He initially rambled on about thanking God, blah-blah, but Merchant cut him off to ask why despite being in control of the fight he had to resort to that unfair 1-2 combo. Then Floyd shockingly began his tirade. Perhaps it was his way to avoid the tough questions about the Pac fight.

This just shows the true side of Floyd. He is a good fighter, probably the best of this era. In the eventual Pac fight, Floyd will be the odds-on favorite. But this also shows the true nature of Floyd. In the run up to this fight, his supporters attribute his aberrant behavior to his marketing savvy. They say his bad boy image sells tickets. Maybe. But what about his cheap shots? He sucker punched Mosley too. When asked about his behavior and his unexciting fights and his avoidance of a Pac fight, he throws off in a rant. He is not selling fights in those post fight interviews. He just shows who he really is.

Now compare that to Pacquiao. Pac touches gloves when asked. He even picks up opponents he just floored. At times he refuses to knock out a completely helpless foe but still manages to give an entertaining fight. When asked about a possible Mayweather bout, he replies gracefully about it being a promoter's job and fighting who is lined up for him.

Compared to our Pacman, Floyd the fighter is good, but as sportsman, he is crude and as a human being, he is rude.

Yet another women's tennis album

First for this year. The lull before The Australian Open 2011.

Is Manny losing focus?

While on official travel to Dagupan City (where Lenox Hotel is the place to stay-their rooms are really spacious), I read this morning that everyone's alarmed over Manny Pacquaio's shape into weeks before his fight against 'Chea-tony' Margarito.

Well, everybody from his promoter to his chief trainer and the press. But of course, not Manny himself and his throng of sycophants. At 31, Manny has reached his peak. Is he now on the inevitable decline? He was unable to dispose off Clottey early in his last fight while sustaining welts himself. Is he just losing focus because of his numerous commitments? Anybody else would focus on a $15million job, with prospects of twice more if the Gayweather fight happens.

When Manny said while deep in training that he misses Congress, it's an indication that his mind is starting to wander off. Maybe he just misses his wife, who looks even better now after a procedure under Belo. Whatever it is, Manny should train his mind and body towards this fight. Congress and Jinky can wait.

Wala pa ring tatalo sa Alaska!

Congrats to the Alaska for effortlessly winning the Fiesta PBA conference over San Miguel. I am a longtime SMB fan but I felt all throughout the series that SMB was not in it. For one, the coach is a known choker. He just could not close out games. If they lead by less than 10 going into the last quarter, I always expect the other team to catch up.

So the most talented team got a so-so talented coach. So Alaska, a great team with a great coach, had excellent chances to win it all. Whereas before, SMB had 75 percent of the crowd going for them, Alaska and other teams like Talk and Text, now command more fans. Clearly, losing despite a talented lineup eroded the fan base. The coach has to go.

World cup fever fails to infect Filipinos

While the whole world highly anticipates the FIFA World Cup games, Filipinos hardly notice the games. Elsewhere, even an octopus who has correctly predicted the results of Germany's games, get good press.

Only a few Pinoys play the game. Not many schools have big enough space for a football field in this space challenged metropolis. Politicians routinely donate basketball goals which can be rolled and setup on paved streets. But how do you donate more than a half hectare just for the playing field?

Larissa Riquelme, a lingerie model from Paraguay who at certain angles resembles the presidential girlfriend, promised to run naked if her national team wins the Cup. Damn Spain for scoring late to deny the world of Larissa's naked run, but her fervor showed us enough of her ample charms. The latest word is she'll still run naked despite the loss. Talk about winning in losing.

Not to be outdone, Bobbie Eden, a Dutch porn star, promised in a tweet, to give a BJ to all her followers if Netherlands wins the Cup. As expected, her followers shot over a hundred thousand and counting. I'm rooting for Spain but I expect Bobbi to do a Larissa even if Holland loses.

But in the Philippines, fans get bored by the game. Our Asian neighbors join the world in the FIFA fever, but not us. Perhaps sometime soon, since the game is now making a strong headway in the US, then we can have some body like Christine Reyes to run naked if Team Pilipinas wins. Then we all win.

Congrats Lakers!

I couldn't follow the historic game 7 because I was locked in a seminar. I got text updates from friends. Many other participants were busy with their phones following the game too. At close to 12nn, the speaker, apparently noticing we were reading text messages, nonchalantly asked who won, almost in unison we said 'the Lakers'.

Anyway, congrats Lakers and Lakers fans. Now you see the value of Artest. While most players would thank their surgeons/physical therapists for fixing their bodies. Artest thanks his shrink for fixing his head. What a guy.

Sweet sweep for Purefoods

Congratulations to the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs for sweeping the Alaska Aces 4-0 in winning the All-Filipino Cup 2010. Their 10 point margin in the last game is the biggest win in the series. The 2nd and 3rd games were just 1 point wins and both came from questionable calls or non-calls in the end game. But this last win is also the sweetest because they won it in a clear and uncontroversial fashion. They deserve this title.

Alaska came out flat in the series, unable to match the energy of the supposedly tired Hotdogs. Wala pa ring tatalo sa Alaska?

It looks like my son 7-yr old Popoy will also be an avid sports fan. He roots for Purefoods. He took an interest in the game because of the fine semifinal series against SMB. To keep his interest I told him I'm for Alaska. Now he has bragging rights till the next championships.

PBA is still a San Miguel league

San Miguel Beer and Ginebra San Miguel may be out of the finals but there is still a San Miguel company competing for the crown. Purefoods is enjoying a 3-0 lead over Alaska in a best of seven affair. It could have been 2-1 in favor of Alaska if not for questionable coaching and inconsistent officiating. Tim Cone himself admitted bad coaching did them in. But he was being modest in taking command responsibility. He was not to blame. Blame falls squarely on the assistant coaches' failure to plot defensive and offensive plays down the stretch. Joel Banal, Dickie Bachman and Trillo do not match the scouting and planning skills of their Purefoods counterparts.

Then there is the sh*tty officiating. In game 2, there was no foul at all no matter what angle you look at the final play. Yet one was called and Kerby made the decisive free throw. The correct call in that dying situation is a no call. Purefoods benefited in that miscall.

In Alaska's final offensive thrust in game 3 there was a clear foul made on Miller and calling one would be justifiable. A no call is OK if we go by the reasoning why there should be no foul in game 2's last play. But this time Purefoods, once again, benefited from the no-call.

Coincidence? Or not.

Pacquiao sings

Manny Pacquiao's attempts at singing. This video is at Yahoo Sports.


This is a link to a video at TMZ.com of the PacMan singing La Bamba.

This is from Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Sports stars, trophy wives/girlfriends 3

More PBA players and their trophy wives/girlfriends.

Basketball player JC Intal and actress Carla Abellana were dating before she became Rosalinda

Sports stars, trophy wives/girlfriends - 2

More sports stars and their trophy wives/girlfriends.

Boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, 6'6" - Actress Hayden Panettiere, 5'1"
(Omg, 17" height, 150+lbs weight difference, she'll be split in half)

Sports stars, trophy wives/girlfriends

Sports stars and their trophy wives/girlfriends.

Basketball star Danny Seigle - Roseanne Prieto, model

Champion boxer Nonito Donaire - Rachel Marcial, model & tae-kwon-do master

Who says chess is boring? 2

Wesley So may have not made it all the way to the top but his recent success in the recent FIDE World Cup should bring renewed interest in the sport at the local scene. The introduction of the rapid and blitz formats and the emergence of online coverage of the games make the game more exciting. Perhaps one more way to lure more public interest is to introduce young, female participants to the game. It may sound sexist, but no one can argue against the success of women's tennis now.

Chess have beautiful women players. Here's proof that brains and beauty mix well.

What's wrong with these sports heroes?

They are the best in their sports. They've got the trophies and the trophy wives. But still they manage to find relations outside of marriage. Don't they get enough at home? Obviously they don't do it for the companionship or the more stimulating conversations. But the other ladies are not even hotter than their wives.

PacMan joke

In the recent Pacman fight they chanted:

Crowd: PacMan! PacMan!
Krista: Pac Me! Pac Me!
Jinkee: Pac You! Pac You!

Marquez 142, Mayweather 146, and it's a welterweight fight?

At the weigh-in this morning (Manila time), Juan Manuel Marquez weighed in at 142 lbs., while Floyd Mayweather, Jr. tipped the scales at 146. Wtf? This is a welterweight fight where the limit is 147 lbs. It turns out that there is a supposed catch-weight at 144 lbs.

JMM looked flabby even if he's just 142. He could bulk up overnight as fighters do come fight time. But that will make him flabbier, and softer, and slower. There is even lesser chance for him to win.

FMJ looked ripped and sweaty, but he doesn't look weak. He will be quick. He can add up more poundage overnight and still be comfortable tomorrow. He will win within the distance.

It looks like FMJ will pay a fine for coming in above 144. But he doesn't care, rightly claiming it's a welterweight fight anyway. The concept of catch weights foul up boxing.

Come November, when PacMan fights Cotto at a catchweight of 145 (in another welterweight title fight), Cotto can show up at above 145, pay the fines, and enjoy an advantage. What then are the weight classes for? Hopefully, PacMan learns a lesson from the beating JMM will get tomorrow. PacMan can opt not to fight Cotto if Cotto gets above 145.

My women's tennis album 10 - Caroline Wozniacki

She fell a bit short this year but many are predicting a great year for her next year.

See also Album 9.

Roger, over and out?

As fans lay transfixed watching the battle for the US Open, it became apparent that there is also a changing of the guards in the tennis world. The champs are getting younger and younger. I am not completely writing Roger Federer off, but since last year, I felt that Roger's chances for a Slam win is higher if Rafael Nadal gets waylaid early. This happened in the French Open and also now in US Open when Juan del Potro gave Rafa no chance after his match with Gonzales.

But del Potro did not stop there. He went on to win it all. He is just 20 years old. Roger is just 27, still years before one's prime in other sports. They get younger all the time. Which makes me feel still older and older.

In the distaff side, 17 year old Melanie Oudin made a very good run for the crown, scoring upsets over people still under 25, before being stopped by Caroline Wozniacki, herself a teenager.

After an astounding streak of 22 consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals, is it now Roger, over and out?

San Miguel wins - at last, in the San Miguel league

Congrats SMB! The San Miguel Beermen ended four years of frustration by smashing a depleted Barangay Ginebra Kings in the 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference. San Miguel came from behind after being down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

San Miguel was much too deep the injury-riddled Ginebra who was simply too tired in the final game. San Miguel coach Siot Tanquincen finally won a crown for SMB.

The San Miguel team was actually a very deep team in all positions for several years now. But the potential never came to fruition under Tanquincen. I was so frustrated with his inability to win a champinship that I initiated a 'fire Siot' movement in a basketbal forum thread/poll. There were many others who were equally dismayed and the thread ran for a long time. The poll showed 70% wanted Siot out as coach since last year.

But with the win, Siot made a lot of SMB fans happy at the moment. His tenure is safe for another conference at least.

The best of seven series still produced a lot of thrills notwithstanding the corporate relations between the two teams. The PBA is truly a San Miguel league with three of the 10 teams (can be actually four) from the San Miguel conglomerate. That makes SMB, Ginebra, and Purefoods (and maybe Coca-Cola) sister teams. In this situation, accusations of a 'scripted' series abound. With its vast corporate resources, SMB teams manage to corner the top players money can buy and go circuitous routes to go around league rules on player transfers. So with the supposed 'script', Purefoods is poised to win the next championship.

Is this situation healthy? The other team owners do not seem to mind, after all PBA continues to provide good exposure for their products. But the rigodon of the players around the league leaves sports fans lost. In the Toyota-Crispa days, PBA fans are fans of the teams. Either you're a Toyota fan or a Crispa fan. When these teams disbanded and the players dispersed to other teams, the players took along their fan base to their new teams. So San Miguel acquired a lot of new fans with the arrival of Mon Fernandez. It was the same with Ginebra when Sonny Jaworski came on board.

What happens when players move around a lot? Team fans lose their identities too. Fans don't root for a team anymore, they root for the players. As a fan, I think rooting for a team is much better than rooting for a particular player, after all basketball is a team game. When fans start to root for a player and not for the team, and if the players move around teams a lot, that defeats the purpose of maintaining a team for product marketing purposes. With the grand exception of the San Miguel teams. The PBA has to do something about the San Miguel stronghold over the league.

Good Sport, bad sport, bad sports fan

Congrats to Roger Federer for once again making history by winning his 15th major. It's not his fault that Nadal's gimpy knees kept him from defending his title. Federer is not only good, the's the best, and on top of it all, he is lucky. Of the only one time that Roger will break Andy's serve, it will break Andy' heart as well. Roger won the 5 setter on a tie-breaker 16-14. But Andy Roddick is a good sport. And the crowd chanted his name to acknowledge the great effort.



Which cannot be said of Danny Ildefonso and a Ginebra fan. The fan heckled the entire San Miguel squad the whole game. After the game, Danny I went after the fan who initially stood his ground until he realized that Danny is not joking. That was when he scampered for safety, then cried afterwards. The TV coverage missed the action because it switched cameras.

Heckling is part of the game. It makes watching live games more exciting. Cursing, flashing the dirty finger sign, challenging the the players to fistfights - fans do what it takes to get the players off their game. What Danny I (and Pingris too) merited fines and suspension. For that, they were not able to play in their next game and their team lost.

But I can understand why Danny I acted that way. His daughter is gravely ill. He missed the all-star game just to be with her. When the fan shouted "ang yabang mo, kaya nagkakasakit ang anak mo, hindi na gagaling yun, gag0", he must have snapped. He must have thought, heckle me all you like, wish me to miss my shots, but don't wish my daughter dead.

Below are photos from Patricia Hizon's blog. The heckler at first stood his ground. He was not able to walk the talk. He ran after he talked.