Women's tennis album - Elena Dementieva

My second favorite tennis player, Elena Dementieva, has retired at 29. She never won a major but she won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She reached her highest ranking (no. 3) just last year. She retired as world no. 9. To my mind she was at the top 2 in the beauty department when she retired last October, just behind my favorite Ana Ivanovic.

Biggest jackpot won

Finally, the biggest lotto jackpot has been won! A lone bettor placed a bet on the 6 winning numbers and won more than 3 quarters of a billion pesos. Wow! That will make someone extremely happy while disappointing millions who now have their dreams of winning shot down. Many people have lost a small fortune chasing down that jackpot

Malacanan's decision to take back control of the PCSO is right, considering the legalities around it. But I think it was ill-timed. They should have waited for the jackpot to be won. In the previous administration, whenever a big jackpot was won, many people believe that the Palace had a hand in it. This time will not be different.

I contributed largely to the pot. I won some but I bet some more. I also churned out lots of statistics on the winning numbers. I will post them later.

White hair chronicles (XXXVI) goes to Lubang

This white hair chronicler went to Lubang Island last week after being last there 18 years ago. I spent vacations there many summers ago. The white hair generation remembers the splendid island's claim to fame,  Japanese WWII soldier Hiroo Onoda, who was found there 1974 after hiding in the jungles from the end of the war in 1945 until his surrender. A brave, if not lonely, straggle for 29 years.

My mother traces her roots to the island. I went back because a grand aunt died. She was 92. She used to be the eldest person on their street. The distinction now belongs to her younger brother, 87. Their father and mother both born in the 1800s lived up to their 90s. This white hair chronicler surely has the longevity genes.

The island is smaller than Siquijor. It has better beaches but is less developed for tourism. Needless to say, it has tremendous tourism potential. An evening at Lubang night is very similar to Siquijor's, minus the blaring videoke bars. A roll on-roll off boat takes you there from Manila's Pier 6. Once you set foot on the island, you'll feel transported back in time. Just 6 hours after boarding the boat at the hustler-filled pier, laid back Lubang lifestyle will lull you sleep.

I stayed a mere 15 hours. I will be back.

low tide

el fraile

their version of the tricycle looks like a baby jeepney

Lotto winners by the numbers

Using available data from PCSO covering the lotto (6/42, 6/45, 6/49, and 6/55) draws from January 2, 2002 to November 19, 2010:

• Number of draws - 3,039.
• Number of draws jackpot was won - 649.
• Number of jackpot winners - 908.
• Number of times with more than 1 jackpot winner - 171.
• Biggest jackpot won -PhP 347,836,903.20 (shared by 2 winners on Feb 22, 2009)
• Smallest jackpot won - PhP 3,000,000 (2 times)
• Most number of winners in a draw - 21 (they shared the PhP 4,748,265 jackpot on Feb 27, 2007)

These numbers suggest that during GMA's term, Filipinos steadily learned how to predict lotto winners. From 55 winners in 2002 winning an average of close to PhP 23 million jackpot, the number of winners grew to a high of 160 in 2007, averaging just over PhP12 million in jackpot. The number of jackpot winners in the last 6 months of GMA equals the total for the year 2003.

This means there is an unsung GMA legacy. There were clearly more lotto winners under her. The numbers do not indicate that there are more bettors. Conspiracy theorists smell a stink and they have other theories.

Pacman gobbles up the money too!

While many Pinoys queue up in snake lines to chase the 450+ million peso lotto dream, Pacman, in pocketing $20M, earned an equivalent to TWICE that jackpot in his latest fight. He even got shortchanged by PhP40M because of the rise of the peso. And he did that by beating up a known cheater who ridiculed his friend and trainer's illness. Talk about being paid handsomely while getting revenge.

The only sensible fight for Manny now is against Mayweather. There is no use in fighting an even bigger guy next. Who could that be? Sergio Martinez?  Paul Williams? or Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.? Shane Mosley? I think Chavez Jr. is too green but he makes up for it by being huge. And his being a another Mexican can make the fight very marketable.

Or, Pacman can fight the welterweights again. Perhaps they should have a derby like the middleweight super 6 to determine the next Pac opponent. Berto, Alexander, Bradley, etc. should participate.

A Mayweather fight may not materialize. Just yesterday, Floyd had another run in with the law. Meanwhile, Pacman's star power has reached the TMZ. The gossip website carried a story about his injuries in the Marg fight. The website had earlier posted a video of Manny's star power when he was mobbed by fans at LAX.

Here are screen caps from his recent fight. The man in blue Pacman shirt looks like Kenneth Duremdes. In the next picture, the lady beside Jinkee looks like Dra. Belo. Then in the last photos, we see the smile on Marg's wife turn to a concerned look before the fight ends.

Update: There are those who think that this is the best time for Manny to hang his gloves and quit sport altogether. He is on top of his game, his legacy and body are well intact. There is a Facebook fan page set up for those who think so too. Visit the page and click on like if you share the same opinion.