Besties (Part 1)

     Everyone who knows me knows that 2010 was a great year for me, possibly one of the greatest.  What I'm not sure of is if people know that 2010 was so great because aside from winning Lifestyle Network's Clash of the Toque-en Ones (and a future cooking show), this blog was voted as finalist for Best Sports Blog in the 2010 Philippine Blog Awards.  To celebrate, here are some of the blog entries from last year I'm most proud of. Click the titles to read the original articles. Do you have a personal favorite? Let me know!

8. Gee Thanks Mom and Dad

Synopsis: What happened when I spent time looking for weird names in sports? What I found was a treasure trove of fun. 


Favorite Lines from the Post: The irony for this former player and later on pitching coach (actual name was Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma Mclish) is that his father named him.  His father's name? John.

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Poisonous Cocktail

     The line, "Sports and politics should not mix," has become a tired, old adage with everyone spewing it left and right.  While that may be a truth that cannot be denied, another field mixed with sports produces an even worse cocktail.


     When sports figures achieve a certain level of success and fame, the call from the movie world cannot be far behind, especially here in the Philippines.  What results is usually a poisonous cocktail, wreaking havoc on both the sporting world and the movie world.  With both these fields struggling in our country, shouldn't we ban the two from ever mixing?  If you need further evidence, take a gander at some of the culprits.

Wapakman (Manny Pacquiao and Onyok Velasco (Boxing) Benjie Paras (PBA Basketball), Krista Ranillo     

     Ring or court brilliance has absolutely no effect on making movies, as evidenced by this box office blunder.  Featuring not one, but two boxing champions, and a PBA great, the superhero movie was a super flop, gaining the least ticket sales in the 2009 Metro Manila Film Festival.  Pacquiao plays Magno, a dedicated father who, by virtue of an accident gains powers to become Wapakman.  Magno then struggles to balance his time with being a superhero and a good father to his children.  It actually features Wapakman fighting a giant crab and a villain with supersonic breasts.  Yeah, I know.  Making bad movies that earn very little seems to be a Pacman staple, but this one actually was worse, spawning a controversy with co-star Ranillo, causing his biggest spat with wife Jinkee yet.  It was probably the universe agreeing with me.

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Top 10 "Top 10s": Greatest Filipino Athletes (1971-Present)

     This is officially my 100th post and before I begin, I would like to thank all of you have seen my blog.  Whether you follow my posts regularly, you glance at it from time to time, or you visit so you can post spam on my comment box, thank you.  Let's get it on then.


Parameters:  Once again, all athletes with Filipino blood qualify for this list, provided their claim to fame and greatness after 1971.


10.  Mansueto Velasco

     After Anthony Villanueva won a silver medal in the 1964 Olympics, the Philippines experienced a silver medal drought, always falling short of Villanueva's effort.  The drought would end only in 1996, when a tiny flyweight by the name of "Onyok" Velasco captured only the Philippines' second Olympic silver medal, along with the hearts of a proud nation.  Velasco used his skill and quickness to rise through the ranks, but then lost a controversial (yet again) decision to Bulgaria's Daniel Petrov.  Aside from causing commentator Ron de los Santos to completely lose his professionalism (he started shouting, "Dinadaya tayo!" repeatedly during the telecast), the loss would shatter the country's gold medal dream.  Despite that, though, Velasco has earned his spot on this list.  

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Appointments

     A lot of people have been discouraging Manny Pacquiao from running for political office, claiming sports and politics shouldn't mix.  Then, add in the history of athletes in our political world (i.e. Senator Robert Jaworski, Secretary Eric Buhain) and you've got yourselves a compelling reason to agree with those people.  Let's think about it though.  What if the right athletes made the trek to the political world?  Our country may find its best government yet, so to our upcoming new (hopefully!!!) president, take a gander at these potential cabinet appointees from the sporting world.

Paeng Nepomuceno (Department of Health) - The four-time World Cup Champion and Greatest Amateur Bowler on the Planet is over fifty years old, yet he looks not a day over 40.  Still competitive against the world's best, Paeng has repeatedly stated his secret is keeping in shape.  He bikes, runs and does calisthenics, all while eating right.  My brother, who was roommates with Paeng during the Asian Games can attest to Paeng's supreme work ethic, as he wakes early every morning for sit ups/crunches as well.  Wouldn't it be great if we were all a la Paeng, healthy and looking good even at 50 years old?

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