Mark Cuban would be a welcome addition for the MLB

The Los Angeles Dodgers is in some deep debt stemming from whatever the fuck Frank McCourt had done to this baseball franchise. When Bud Selig nixed that television deal last week, McCourt had his last string of hope mercilessly cut. The Dodgers, I assume, needs financing that Mr. McCourt obviously doesn't have the capacity anymore unless the whole Major League Baseball organization unanimously agree that all Dodgers could just be salaried by hotdogs or anything of lesser cost.

Major League Baseball has no salary cap. Mark Cuban is a free-spending sports tycoon that he could even afford paying Optimus Prime to play for well, the Mavs. He has shown interest in buying the Dodgers but this interest could have already faded now. The point is, if Mark Cuban sees the Dodgers as fixable and worthy of purchase, he would be great owner. He is an innovator and is unafraid of doing things differently. Does Bud Selig think that Cuban's antics would alienate the league?

Boston Bruins is 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Champions

The Boston Bruins molested Canucks' goalie Roberto Luongo and wins Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas was awarded with the Conn Smyth trophy capping of a great season replete with a Venzina Trophy.

With or Without the NBA next season, I'll be just fine (guaranteed for one season only)

While the euphoria of this year’s edition of the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks continue to cause a sharp increase in the usage of Sick and Vacation Leaves among employees, raging searches of “NBA live streaming” online from those who are passionately immersed in their covert mission to do some Homing From Work and school/college kids who either miss or cut class to be witnesses of a Brian Cardinal finals sighting, there is one real impending news that is of great probability to happen that we, as a nation that considers basketball as a pseudo-religion, might associate with the portent of the 2012 world destruction: That there might be no NBA games to watch next season. A flat-out 11 months straight of dead scoreboards and hard courts devoid of LeBron James’ dunks, Kobe Bryant’s fadeaways and Anderson Varejao’s hair. Simply put, it is going to be an 11 month long offseason.

Why the possibility of a stoppage? Apparently, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA Players’ Association and the league owners is about to expire by June 30 and if a deal is not reached by that time, a looming lockout can be expected.

Maybe an agreement can be reached in one of the succeeding months and games will be played but only in a shortened season that would hearken back memories of the 1999 San Antonio Spurs winning its franchise’s first Larry O’ Brien trophy when the regular season was only 50 games long. This is all hoping-for-the-best scenario in which a regular sports fan could really do nothing except shed some patience and wait.

Now, how do you fill-up the vacated calendar of NBA basketball? In the regular NBA offseason, the collegiate cage wars of the NCAA and the UAAP give us a respite from our offshore basketball addiction. Top amateur standouts from top colleges and universities provide us a brand of play that differs greatly from what we’ve been watching for the last nine months from the NBA. We see raw talent and sheer youthful determination as the main ingredients of the entertainment of these leagues not to mention the rivalries and the affiliations that come with it. In the normal cycle of basketball schedule in the Philippines, once the champions of the NCAA and UAAP are crowned which is around October, NBA basketball is just a couple of weeks away and the lust for it to begin merely fills up the remaining days before opening night.

Then there’s the PBA. Switching back to a three-conference season makes for more championships and a smaller offseason gaps which is perfect for a cage-wars thirsty legion of fans. The Commissioner’s Cup is underway just as the NBA season ends benefiting the PBA as it no longer had to compete for viewers and attention with the NBA. Let’s admit it already, the PBA, especially to the younger generation, does not hold much aura anymore that would enamor these kids. Cable TV and the internet bombarded them with daily supply of endless thread of highlight reel dunks leaving this portion of fans unjustly looking for the same in the local professional league.

An absence by the NBA may not be that bad after all. Idle sports fans might have their attention gravitated towards another sport that they are unknowledgeable about. The cravings for an NBA game could lead a lot of people into looking for another league regardless of sport that they can follow. Migration of interest is essential to anyone into becoming permanent patrons of any league. I know this all too well. I have my experiences. My continuous fandom for Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL) was born out of a mixture: A crushing gusto to interest myself into another type of sport (since basketball has pretty much engulfed my sports calendar, knowledge and thirst) and of an unexpected rendezvous.

The 2001 World Series was surprisingly televised locally by Studio 23. The games were live and featured the Arizona Diamondbacks and the defending champion New York Yankees. This was the start of my eventual fandom to baseball. My friends say it was a boring game which I think is agreeable given the palpable lack of action. I thought baseball was a boring game entirely because I was ignorant about the game. A huge step towards appreciating America’s national pastime happened during that rare local airing of a baseball game-and a World Series at that!

The MLB season covers the months of April up to September. In this manner, I get to continue enjoying North American professional team sports even after the NBA season ended.

During my first stint as a working professional, I happen to come across hockey. Working in a private cubicle is often a temptation to delay work in exchange of some non-work related surfing. The NBA Playoffs was then underway and browsing the latest news and updates while in the office is the best way to keep me from having my head slumped on the desk out of post-lunch drowsiness. I noticed that many sports blog and news aggregator were not only filled with stories of only one league's playoffs.

The NHL’s season begins almost simultaneously with the NBA’s. Following both from 0-0 standings to the game sevens of both playoffs is a sports fan’s nirvana. Playoff-gasm if you may. Shifting from one league to the other creates personal excitement that is unrivaled by the personal excitement that I could get when I’m just following the NBA. Don’t get me wrong, I followed the NHL not for the sake of just having another sport to root. I discovered and acknowledged upon then that hockey is one tough, exciting and intensity-full sport. No touch fouls, fighting is allowed, hard, crushing hits and the tradition itself are all reasons as to why I find it THIS appealing.

The blank NBA calendar can spawn similar stories. It can also heighten a somewhat pedestrian interest to a sport. Filipinos might soon find the Azkals a bigger place in their households. With no competition from the NBA again, the Azkals can get all the exposure and all the love they can get.

The beauty of a life filled with sports, as I discovered, is bliss. Amidst the real world problems, the stress of work and every real-life upsets, there is always something I can resort and absorb myself into. And guess what, this escape isn’t short-lived. It is a season-long affair.

So long NBA, with or without you, I am just fine. But please, I can only carry on without your league for some time.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 1: Of Biting and Canucks' Late Game Winner

The first game of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins went deep into the third period with the scoreboard registering a scoreless tie. That's until Raffi Torres slid the puck past Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas with 18.5 seconds to go before overtime. Canucks lead series 1-0.


As late as the first goal had come, we were still entertained by witnessing a frustrated attempt of cannibalism when Vancouver's Alex Burrows bit the finger of Boston center Patrice Bergeron.

2011 NBA Finals' Game 1: LeBron' s First Finals Win (Never mind Bosh's)

Yesterday was LeBron's day. It does not matter if they won as a team. It was still LeBron James' day. Their Game 1 win over the Dallas Mavericks is The King's first finals win. Remember that in 2007, James and the rest of the Cavs were rolled over by the Spurs in the fewest number of games possible to win the championship. Lebron's three wins away from redemption. Three wins away from nailing The Decision down for good. The Larry O' Brien is his weapon of choice to silence most of his critics.

The win is either a portent of the many championship James and the rest of the Big Three could achieve in the future or a smashing finals debut for a doomed finals ride because Dallas is still dangerous. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Peja Stojakovic, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler. A group of great veterans hoping that their collective desperation could win them the ever elusive Championship Trophy. It is an outrageous reality that someone like Mark Madsen has more rings than all of these aforementioned Mavericks combined.

The Brilliant Chino Trinidad and Quinito Henson

Note: I wrote this three years ago and posted on my Multiply account just after the Pacquiao-Diaz fight. The fight were covered by Chino Trinidad and Quinito Henson. I sure did hope then that the referee would also call a stoppage to their ultra-dramatic radio play-esque broadcast.

Someone mentioned to me that Joe Cantada was the best of all the local Sports Commentators. He need only to mention two Cantada trademarks phrases to convince myself that he really is in a class of his own.

“There is still an eternity of basketball left”
“This is going to be another cardiac finish”

Yesterday’s Diaz-Pacquiao lightweight action was covered by Nonito Donaire and two other men who are going overly dramatic over the intangibles of the fight: Quinito Henson and Chino Trinidad.

Just as Pacquiao is shoe-shining Diaz’ face with a series of combinations, here goes Chino Trinidad with a combination of his own monologues that could rival not the punches of Pacquiao, but the narration of Ate Charo in Maalaala Mo Kaya only with too much zeal.

“Bilib talaga ako sa PUSO ni Diaz”,
“Grabe ang PUSO ni Diaz”,
“Ibang klase ang ipinapakitang PUSO nitong si Diaz.

Ladies and Gentlemen the brilliant Chino Trinidad.

And to complement him is the winner of Bikini Bottom’s Squidward Look-Alike Contest Quinito Henson. Mr. Henson is a walking sports encyclopedia who became known for his deep arsenal of sports facts and analysis. Hands down he is the book smartest of all sports journalists locally.

While Manny Pacquiao has cemented his position as the planet’s Pound for Pound king with his obliteration of Diaz, Mr. Quinito Henson has also solidified his position as one of the world’s Pound for Pound bests when it comes to stating the obvious.

It is wishful thinking to expect that the next brawl would be covered by the HBO guys and not these two men who has been robbing us of precious intelligent technical knowledge of the games.

I got a hard bound book titled ESPN 25 which I dug up in Buy-the-Book for just 99 pesos. I envy the people of America that they have ESPN giving their sports a culture of their own. The sports journalists are very creative with coming up with their game descriptions.

“Puttin’ the Biscuit in the Basket”
Three ball, corner pocket.”
That ball has been voted off the island!”

Missing Marlboro

The Marlboro Tour days were long gone. The names that so frequently occupy the sports pages during those days barely make it to today’s sports sections. Espiritu, Davadilla, Guieb, Domingo, Dolosa et al. These cyclists, these athletes, with their aerodynamic helmets, wind glasses and heat-oppressed faces, I admit I had a hard time recognizing their faces.

But I don’t mistake their respective names with somebody else’s. Not to a college ball player. Not to some up-and-coming boxer. Not to anyone’s. Doing so gravely betrays the time spent of repeatedly looking at the television coverage’s leader board updates thus leaving a mark in my then young and shallow collection of athletes ‘names.

Comparing these local sports heroes to today’s generation of cyclists is a popularity mismatch.

I completely understand that Marlboro is just the major sponsor of these twin-wheeled races and even with its support withdrawal, the race is continued to be staged each year since. Of course, there were a few major sponsors that filled the void left by Marlboro but none were able to salvage or even relish the great success of the previous partnership.

And each of the succeeding editions of this summer sport spectacle also continued to decline not only in stages but also in the public’s immediate awareness. There were fewer columns and smaller photos of the event in the papers today dedicated to the cycling event. No TV station broadcast the races either. To sum it up, I think the tour is sadly drifting into oblivion if it had not already.

Honestly speaking, I haven’t followed any of the races anymore. The last time I truly and religiously followed it was in 2004 when Enrique Domingo had all but won the tour only to fade in the last stages. It was won by Lloyd Reynante. I even had the effort to cut newspaper clippings of it which to this day still steadily sits in an old clear book.

The yearly tour will continue. It will strive. But matching even its most recent of glory days isn’t in the horizon. It hasn’t passed the time trials yet. Soon, another summer would end without it making a significant buzz.

The Playoffs: Bulls Lead Series; Red Wings Forces Game 7

Chicago is on the verge of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals after staving off Josh Smith and the Hawks in Game 5 of their series with a 95-83 win.

One thing for the Hawks: If you're against a powerhouse team built mostly with former Utah Jazz starters and inserted them into an already potent team that is the Chicago Bulls, someone in your team who goes by the name of Jamal Crawford should score more than a paltry 2 points.

Another opportunity for the NHL and its fans to witness a Game 7 after a team trailed 0-3 in a series. The Detroit Red Wings coursed through a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks. After Jeremy Roenick called out Patrick Marleu "gutless" on live television, the Sharks went out of their way to prove that it isn't just Marleu, but the whole team-at least in this Game 6 battle.

Oklahoma Thunders-Memphis Grizzlies’ Game 4

The Game 4 of the Western Conference Semi-finals between the Oklahoma Thunders and Memphis Grizzlies seems to know no concept of ceasefire unless the second-coming of Christ calls everything to a halt.

There were 3 overtimes and this isn’t just your regular season game. This is the NBA Playoffs. A series round where in the entire history of the Grizzlies’ franchise had never been a participant before.

In the end, the heroics, the big shots, and the toughness lasted more for the Thunders. Any lingering hope and luck for the Grizzlies ultimately succumbed and left the team.

All because of the terrifying scowl of Mr. Perkins.

Playoffs Bullets

Unlike many sports nuts in the country, there are two playoffs that I follow during this time of the year: The NBA Playoffs and the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

I know it does not rain snow in this tropical country. I know rivers in this country never turn into smooth and slippery ice every December. I know that there is only a .000001% chance that the guy next to me in a jeepney ride knows who Alexander Ovechkin is. But I enjoy hockey.

• The Dallas Mavericks complete their mission to humiliate the Lakers sweeping them 0-4 inthe series with a 122-86 win. The Mavericks sank 20 three-pointers. Despite the margin of loss, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom managed to find a more ignominous way to decorate Phil Jackson's last game by displaying their thuggery.

• The Atlanta Hawks evens up its series against the Chicago Bulls 2-2 with a 100-88 win at home.

• The proud franchise of Detroit Red Wings refuses to surrender it's series against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks won the first three games before the Red Wings answered with two straight making it 3-2. The Chicago Blackhawks almost did the feat of coming back from a 0-3 series and win only to lose in their Game 7 match with the Vancouver Canucks during the first round. 4-3 was the score.