Shorts: Charms and Curses

(Beginning this week, From the Fifty Peso Seats will have a weekly edition of shorts, compilations of interesting but short posts of developments and trivia about the sporting world.)

World Cup Wonder?

     Admittedly, this year's Bowling World Cup lost its luster for me when both of history's greatest, Paeng Nepomuceno and Walter Ray Williams jr. were eliminated before the quarterfinals.  The victory of Canada's Caroline Lagrange, however, makes for interesting conjecture.  Keeping in mind that I just want to have fun, Lagrange's thrilling come-from behind win over Zara Glover of England makes her the fourth straight first time winner of the event.  What's more noteworthy, though, is that this makes it the third women's world champion in four years (2006 Diandra Asbaty, 2008 Jasmine Yeong-Nathan, 2009 Caroline Lagrange) with whom I have taken a picture with in years past.  Furthermore, the lone winner I didn't have a photo op with, 2007 Champion Ann Marie Putney, bowled in a World Cup where no woman had a photo taken with me.  Does this mean I am a lucky charm?  Just kidding. I'm no megalomaniac.  It's just nice to know there is no overwhelming evidence that I'm a jinx.  (Hear that Ateneo?  I didn't cause the championship drought in basketball in the early 2000s, ok?)  Despite this, though, if I were Clara Guerrero, next year might be a good time bowl the World Cup.  Ok ok, enough of this...

Shaq Fu

     First of all, kudos to Shaq for spending for the funeral costs of an American girl who was reportedly murdered.  Her family was struggling to find money to pay for the funeral and Shaq graciously covered all expenses.  Despite that, I have to drop the bomb on Shaq daddy.  Is Shaq a charm or a curse?  In each of his stops in his career, the superstar he leaves behind has their career years shortly after the "Big Aristotle" makes his exit.  The numbers back me up.  Kobe definitely had his best years after Shaq.  After Shaq's unceremonious exit from the Lakers at the start of the 2004-05 season, Kobe played the two best seasons of his career.  In 2005-06, he scored a career-best 35.4 points per game for the season, while in 2007-08 season, Kobe played his best season ever, netting himself the coveted Most Valuable Player Award.  Meanwhile, after bidding goodbye to Shaq in the middle of the 2007-08 season, Dwayne Wade launched career numbers in his first season P.S. (Post Shaq).  "The Flash" poured in career (and league best) 30.2 points per game, on top of 7.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game (all career bests).  This year, with Shaq's departure from Phoenix, the entire Suns team seems to have revitalized, none more so than Steve Nash, who at 36 years ols, has shown no signs of slowing down.  Nash is currently putting up personal (and league best) 12.1 assists per game, and he is also shooting career best gield goal and free throw percentages.  If you want to make a real fine point to it, the best Canadian baller is also averaging a career-best 0.2 blocks per game. 

     Is Shaq a curse that when lifted, releases a player's best possible game or is a charm that augments a player's game?  Either way, when Shaq and Lebron inevitably part ways, look for King James to post even better numbers than before.  Scary huh?

Mysterious Lady

     When the story of how Tiger Woods finally married Jesper Parnevik's children's nanny after initially struggling to ask her out was told, everyone agreed it was quite a happy tale for the world's greatest golfer.  Recently, though, allegations of marital dispute, an illicit affair and a mysterious car accident have spurred interest in Elin Nordegren Woods.  Who is she and why did she smash Tiger's car windows?  One thing they should ask is, is she a charm or a curse to Tiger's game?  In five years before Tiger married, he won a total of 32 golf titles and in the five years he's been married, he's won a total of 25.  While injury and a new swing were said to have caused the slight dip in titles won, how do we know those weren't the results of the "Elin curse?"

     Ok guys.  These shorts were all in good fun and to take them seriously might not be good for one's mental health.  There are no such thing as luck and curses, right?  Now, if you don't mind, I have to go clean my rabbit's foot...