Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk April 30, 2006 Money In Sports Money and sports. Do you ever wonder what money can do in sports? Do you know how much is invested in sports just to win a medal? Every year, the various National Sports Associations (NSA's) always complain how they don't have the funds to train their athletes and finance their trips to international competitions abroad. It's an over-chewed chewing gum that never goes away. "We don't have funds. Give us money and our athletes will win it for the country," they always declare. But haven't you ever bothered to ask how the money given to our NSA's is spent? Audited? Maximized? I'm a tax-paying citizen. Don't I deserve a report on how the Pinoy's money is sports is spent? Well it looks like the cat is out of the bag. But my question is why only now. It has been reported that some 18 NSA's have yet to liquidate or account for a total of P88 million that was given to them by the Philippine Sports C...

Bleacher Talk published April 23, 2006 “With the theme ‘Building the Nation’s Champions Towards Global Recognition,’ the objective of the convention is geared towards the enrichment of professional boxing in the country.” This is the impressive statement declared about the first ever GAB Philippine Annual Boxing Convention that ended yesterday at the Hotel Hyatt and Casino Manila. And to top this, here’s another one. “…the launching of this presidential priority program is aimed at creating sound policies and avenues for the common welfare and protection of Filipino fighters and future generations of aspiring pro boxers.” Ambitious, impressive. Achievable? Hmmm. Your guess is as good as mine. Mark the date and keep these statements in your memory banks. I’m going to do exactly the same thing. The state of Philippine boxing under the management of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has been criticized heavily in the past and today. But throughout all these, the government agency under...

published April 16, 2006 Holy Week Thoughts The Holy Week is always a great time for all of us to reflect on the passion and death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. As we celebrate Easter Sunday today, we rejoice and join the entire Church in celebrating this big fiesta. For through His sacrifice, crucifixion, death and resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the Lord’s will that we all be saved. As we all welcomed this timely break, it is our wish that our relationship with God got a much-needed recharge that will pave the way to strengthening our love for Him for the rest of our lives. But can those of us in sports actually do this? Do sports and “religion” mix? Can I dabble in sports and be close to God at the same time? This is a common “dilemma” asked by many athletes and sportsmen who fail to connect with Our Lord since they treat sports as their religion of all religions. To them, there is no room for “religion” in sports. Don’t worry, I don’t intend to go into the...

(Freeman, April 9, 2006) Is Cebu Qualified for the National Team? They say that making it to the national team for any sport is one of the highlights of an athlete's career. To some, it's THE apex of all sports that is as valuable as making a living as a professional athlete. Basketball, boxing and billiards seem to be the only sports where one can earn a living here in the Philippines. Thus, the athletes of other sports don't have any other dream other than a place on the Philippine team as their career achievement. Winning a medal while donning the country's tri-colors becomes an icing on the cake of an already big achievement. So how is Cebu in this department? I bring this up since there seems to be a trend to tap Cebuanos or Cebu-trained players for the country's national football teams. The latest national football team to be formed is the U14 squad and try-outs for this are being facilitated by the Cebu Football Association (CFA). Will a Cebuano make it to th...

Bleacher Talk April 2, 2006 Completing Cebu Basketball What’s happening to Cebu Basketball? I’m not sure if you noticed, but the face of local basketball has evolved over the years from being a Cebu-centered venue of games to a wider network reaching out to the Visayas and Mindanao. That’s bad news for followers of local basketball as this has come at a price. Gone today is the local commercial league that used to dominate the scene and that became the breeding ground for Cebu’s top players before moving on to the big time. I guess it’s a natural phenomenon that we’ll have to accept as part of the development of the sport in the south. It looks like the local fans wanted more than just local ball. The spice that was needed to make the games more attractive was regional competition. Thanks to the MBA, fans had a glimpse of how exciting regional wars was, and now we’re back to a scaled-down version of these battles. But while the move to go regional had been the “in” thing and was now be...