Playing Santa 2010

     It's Christmas time once again and it's time to see who has been naughty or nice.  I still wish I could give them the gifts I assigned to them.


Naughty

Mark Joseph - The interim president of the Philippine Aquatic Sports Association (PASA) has been naughty, continuing to refuse holding an election for PASA leadership, while making his lack of leadership clear.  He has shown ignorance for his wards' difficulties, like the divers' problem with frog infestation in their pool or their accident in the Asian Games itself.


Gift: Proper elections to expose his poor approval ratings in the PASA

Lebron James - The man who dares to call himself "King" not only embarrassed his hometown Cleveland by appearing in a 1 hour special to announce his plans to leave, he also caused problems in his new team by trying to undermine Coach Erik Spoelstra.  His recent comments that the NBA is, "watered down" with too many teams has also attacked the NBA Players' Union's points of contention in their impending labor struggle against NBA team owners.


Gift: A few more seasons of losses to build humility

Floyd Mayweather - Aside from dodging the big, anticipated fight against Manny Pacquiao, "Money" has now been charged with multiple crimes, including larceny and assaulting the mother of his children.  This is all on top of a deplorable, racist rant against Pacquiao.  He sure found a way to fill his year up.


Gift: A few years of incarceration to get some perspective

Peping Cojuangco - The leader of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has bullied his way for yet another year, royally screwing the Dragon Boat Team by having them try to beat a qualifying time to earn slots to the Asian Games, then taking it away by accusing the team of cheating after they beat the qualifying time set by the POC.  He also agreed to send some shooters to the Asiad, but didn't provide coaches to help them adjust during the games.


Gift: A personal audit by his nephew Noy Noy so that the President will see how poorly sports is run here


Nice

Kevin Durant - The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar let his franchise and host city off the hook by quietly signing a contract extension, even requesting the team to remove his opt-out clause.  This will help the team keep its young core together for quite some time.  Then Durant went on to sacrifice his time to lead Team USA to its first World Championship gold since 1994.


Gift: A not too early meeting with the Lakers in the playoffs to allow Durant a chance to lead the Thunder to the second round of the playoffs

Azkals Football Team - The Philippine Football Team bucked tall odds, which included an NSa president out to sabotage them and perennial lack of funding to perform exceedingly well. The Azkals reached the semi-finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup by virtue of a stunning win over powerhouse Vietnam, thereby igniting Filipino pride sorely lacking in this country.  They've also fanned a newfound interest in football, something not easy to do this basketball-crazy country.


Gift: The gift of focus so that they keep their desire to improve and so that they are not distracted by their newfound fame

Manny V. Pangilinan - The dynamic and controversial owner of PLDT opened his wallet to aid Philippine Sports, bankrolling the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) and the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP), enabling the two to build real development programs while already producing encouraging results.  Lately, Pangilinan has also expressed willingness to support the Azkals in their bid to qualify for the World Cup.


Gift: A good return of investment so that other business tycoons are encouraged to emulate him

Smart Gilas - The team of young amateur ballers gave up three years of their potential PBA careers to concentrate on playing for the country, risking potential earnings by playing tough international matches, often bucking injuries and bum officiating.  Then, they come home to a skeptical media and fair-weathered fans second guessing their every game.  The team will continue to work, throughout the Christmas holidays, hoping to gain a leg up on qualifying for the Olympics in 2012.


Gift: A more supportive and less skeptical media to ease the pressure off the team during their games