|
WE like
our sports to come down to its basic and logical
conclusion… that there are amazing winners and there are
hard-luck losers. It’s defined in part by stats,
performance, human achievement, and to a certain (maybe
even lesser extent)… the judges’ decision. But it’s not
a perfect world the way Nadia Comaneci was in Montreal,
the Miami Dolphins were in 1972, or Michael Jordan’s
shooting form and follow through against the Utah Jazz
in 1998.
We would
be in the realm of perfect if His Airness never went on
his baseball sabbatical and instead led the Chicago
Bulls to eight straight National Basketball Association
titles; Luis Gonzalez never hit that bloop single into
shallow center field that would have allowed the New
York Yankees a dramatic win in Game Seven of the 2001
World Series; and Ateneo De Manila’s JC Intal’s bank
shot in the fateful final seconds of regulation of the
2006 University Athletic Association of the Philippines
Finals went in.
But
that’s not just the beauty of sports. There are every
bit as much agonizing and Homeric stories where even
failed campaigns remain etched in every fiber of our
being, history and culture. And there are boners,
eyebrow-raisers or head-shaking incidents that tell us
that the apocalypse is upon us…
§
Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White wasn’t
planning on renewing the contract of Tito Ortiz, the Bad
Boy from Huntington Beach. Showing behavior
uncharacteristic for a top sports league’s president,
White offered no good words for Ortiz and ended his
tirade by calling him “a gorilla.” But after an
unpopular draw with Rashad Evans in the main card of the
recently-concluded UFC 73: Stacked, and all the trash
talking that ensued in the postfight press conference
between them, White saw visions of dollars and
top-Nielsen ratings flash before his eyes. So he did the
next best thing—he declared that return match is good to
go and he’s renewing Ortiz’s contract. Hey, it’s a
business.
§
FIFA is
financing the new headquarters of the Philippine
Football Federation. It’s located at the corner of Danny
Floro and Javier Streets in Pasig City. That’s right in
the heart of motel alley and a literal stone’s throw
away from Victoria Court. That’s great—football on one
side and footsie on the other.
§
After
mercilessly booing Barry Bonds in every major league
city (save for San Francisco) for the better part of the
past several seasons due to suspicion of taking
performance-enhancing steroids, baseball fans all across
America voted him to the National League All-Star team.
§
After
weeks of denying that there were any irregularities with
Jojo Duncil’s birth certificate,
University of
Santo Tomas
finally admitted that there were two authentic documents
in the hands of the UAAP but with different birthdates.
Although Duncil was of legitimate age last year, the
UAAP board said that they would only recognize the first
birth certificate that was submitted that would have
placed him over the playing age limit for Season 70. To
avoid any further complications, Duncil “decided” to
turn pro. And to think that UST is this year’s host in
the UAAP and their theme for the season is “Recreating
the Value of Honesty through Sports.”
§
In 1996,
Real Madrid hired Fabio Capello to manage the famous
football club. They won the Spanish La Liga that year
but let Capello go at the season’s end because they felt
that he wasn’t a fit. They brought him back for the
2006-’07 campaign where Los Blancos won their 30th
league title. Top management fired him again barely two
weeks after because management felt he wasn’t the man to
take them into a new era of sustained success.
§
After
declaring himself a Gunner for life last season, Thierry
Henry left Arsenal for FC Barcelona. To justify his
move, Henry pointed to the resignation of David Dein
from Highbury’s top management and the alleged
nonrenewal of manager Arsene Wenger’s contract as huge
reasons for his leaving. Henry must have paid attention
to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant who said similar
things a few years ago.
§
Self-promotion is not something new in sports. For all
the clichés of “there’s no ‘I’ in team” and yadda yadda
yadda, humility in the modern athlete is definitely out
of the window. Remember when Purefoods Hotdogs’
forward-center Kerby Raymundo said that he deserved to
win Conference Most Valuable Player Award over former
teammate Enrico Villanueva of Red Bull? Well, Talk ’N
Text’s Mac Cardona reprised that and said, “I think I am
deserving of the award. I played well in the
eliminations and in the finals.” So much for thanking
mom, dad, and his parents [do you remember which
Philippine Basketball Association player said that
gaffe?].
§
Motormouth Gary Sheffield is in the right place… with
Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers. The slugger, in
an interview with HBO’s Andrea Kremer last Saturday,
said that his former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre
didn’t treat black players well and that he singled them
out during team meetings. White players, on the other
hand, were called into his office. When asked if Torre
was a racist, after a long tirade,
Sheffield concluded that he didn’t believe the Yankees’ skipper was
one.
§
The
landmark Manila Zoo is reportedly going to be torn down
to give way for the construction of the Philippine
Basketball Association’s permanent arena. Quite a few
are thinking that they’re coming home.
Check
out bleachersbrew.blogspot.com for exclusive interviews
with PFF, Efren “Bata” Reyes, Django Bustamante and
Ateneo Blue Eagles. |
