Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk July 1, 2007 Sports in School Did you ever notice that when you pay the tuition fees of your children, there’s an expense or cost item for sports? It might be labeled as “sports fee” while other schools call it “athletics fee.” Whatever it is, it’s supposed to be used for sports. But did you ever bother to ask the school where this fee ends up in the real world? Disclaimer # 1: Before anything else, I’d like to make it clear that this is not a column questioning these fees at the school where my kids study. [I better play safe here lest they take it against my innocent kids.] :-) We all know how important sports is in the formative stage of kids. There is so much one can learn and develop in sports that you can’t find in the four walls of a classroom. This is why many schools take on a holistic approach in developing or educating our kids. It’s not a matter of giving kids a full dose of academics and nothing else. Extra-curricular activities are highly encouraged, and on

Bleacher Talk June 24, 2007 BAP-SBP Split in Cebu? I’ll ask this up front and hope our sports leaders can give me a straight answer. Is there a split between the Basketball Association of the Philippines regional chapter and the BAP-SBP? I ask this because I’m concerned. After attending the unity meeting that saw the birth of the united BAP-SBP in Manila earlier in the year, I was all high hopes that Cebu would play a major role as one of the leading regional basketball hubs of the country. I was thus expecting to see unified activities that would bring all our local basketball leaders together and on the same page. But is this happening? What got me worried were the separate announcements of two upcoming tournaments. The first is the Talk ’N Text SBP-BAP MVBA Invitational Basketball Tournament that kicks off today, while the other is the BAP Danao City Mayor’s Cup on June 29. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that Cebu will be awakened from a quiet basketball summer with the hold

Bleacher Talk June 17, 2007 Working for a World Title One of the most interesting activities in boxing is how boxing managers work through the sport’s maze to get a world title shot for their boxers. I’ve always been amazed at how the sport has somehow found so many thousands of ways to have boxers fighting for world championships, and we’re very fortunate to have one our very own boxing clubs working on this with their boxers. There are those who work their way slowly but surely, going through the process of building up their boxers through the ranks. These boxers usually gain the much-needed exposure at home, then go international to further increase their confidence and test the waters. When ripe and ready, they challenge for a world title which the manager works so hard for, with the help of the big names or promoters of international boxing. But a boxer whose career is made to grow this way can’t be guaranteed of a championship just yet. Beneath all these are all the wheeling and

Bleacher Talk June 10, 2007 Spurs and NBA Finals 101 This is it. We’re down to two teams. Will the San Antonio Spurs come out on top as predicted by most (if not all) analysts and fans? Or will Cleveland Cavaliers score another major upset behind the leadership of a 22 year-old superstar? The irony about making a forecast for this year’s finals is that it’s going to "easier" than making one for what was supposed to be a Spurs-Pistons finals. I really wish I didn’t have to say that, but there really isn’t anything else to say, is there? You can ask any basketball fan and nine out of ten will predict a Spurs championship. Everything is simply pointing to another Spurs championship and it doesn’t look like the Cavs will be able to pull off another surprise from Mike Brown’s bag of tricks. A unique blend of over-all player superiority, experience and consistency will bring the Spurs another championship. They’re simply so much stronger in every department with the lone exception

Bleacher Talk June 3, 2007 PHIL-ling Up Are you happy with the current state of Philippine boxing? Are we happy that Manny Pacquiao is recognized as the people’s world champion? Are we also happy that Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista is on the verge of winning a world championship? I think the answers to these are an obvious “yes.” But let me challenge the question further. Are we happy with just these? A couple bright stars for Philippine boxing, and that’s it? If you take a look at the current boxing scene and gauge how the Philippines is doing vis-à-vis other countries, you’ll most likely agree with me that yes, while we are proud of the latest achievements of Pacquiao and Boom Boom, there’s a long way to go before reaching our long term dream of seeing the Philippines as a dominant player in the international boxing scene. And when one talks about dominating the world boxing, one of the best examples is Mexico, especially in the “lighter” weight divisions, i.e. those below the middleweight