Back from the dead

Posted by Jaemark Tordecilla on November 5, 2009 at 17:53 | Comments (6)

How’s everyone doing? Sorry about the lack of updates. Last week, my laptop’s monitor conked out on me just before the long weekend. I was still able to do a little work by hooking up the laptop to my TV, but I couldn’t get any extended writing. I got the laptop fixed earlier this week, but then other stuff got in the way, so yeah, no updates.

Anyway, here’s some stuff I’d been meaning to pass along the past few days:

During my review of Rebound magazine last month, I mentioned that perhaps the guys behind the magazine should consider hiring good writers who do not necessarily write about sports all the time to write about basketball. It’s the kind of stuff that happens all the time in the blogosphere, and I was reminded of this point while reading Maverick’s blog. He’s a diplomat assigned in Libya, and he’s got one of the best blogs around, bar none. I first came across his blog when he wrote an excellent post about Alaska’s 1996 grand slam, and he’s been writing occasionally about sports: basketball tournaments in Libya’s Filipino community, the PBA’s decision to render the Smart Gilas games no-bearing, and the ensuing catfight between Burger King coach Yeng Guiao and SBP executive director Noli Eala (broken down Dr. Jack-style).

While everyone in the sports blogosphere thinks that changing the rules in the middle of the game for the Gilas boys is bad, Tim Cone actually likes it, according to Rey Joble’s latest post. Cone is, apparently, not too keen about having the national team playing in the PBA, citing his own experiences with 1998’s centennial team: “We played in an import-flavored conference. It was a bad experience and was not a big help for our campaign.”

I always enjoy Patay ang Butiki’s weekly PBA power rankings. Last week, for example, we found out that, even adjusted for pace, Alaska had the best offense while Talk N Text had the best defense. This week, they point out that Purefoods has been playing terrible defense, and wonder why this is so, despite the presence of supposed stoppers on the team. It’s really because of piss-poor coaching; the reason they lost to Coke was because they couldn’t figure out their rotations on the pick-and-roll. Norman Gonzales got open looks over and over again because his guy would always rotate to the roller, only no one would cover for the defender. I could do a whole post breaking this down, but I might end up stabbing myself in the neck with a spoon.

Rafe Bartholomew runs with Manny Pacquiao’s comment about wanting to be as big as George Foreman, and he dissects the Pac-Man’s hardcourt game. Also, check out his post from last January about Pacquiao’s participation in the Liga.

Cocktales has a fun list of all the bigwigs and trust-fund babies in Philippine society who participated in the New York City marathon.

I was saddened by Bill Walton’s retirement from broadcasting. This definitely has to one of the saddest moments in the history of Western civilization. My favorite Big Red moment was when he waxed poetic about Boris Diaw.

Ok, this has nothing to do with sports, but remember a couple of weeks ago when I announced that I had a blog on FHM where I could basically write anything I wanted? Well, I wrote a thousand words about Jean-Claude Van Damme. And that’s just the first part. I go for another eight hundred words in the second.

And just in case you’ve been living under a rock, here’s Manny Pacquiao’s seminal US late night talk show debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live:

Comments (6) | Trackback (1)
Tags: Air 21 Express / Burger King Whoppers, Alaska Aces, B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados / Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, Basketball, Boxing, Manny Pacquiao, Philippine Basketball Association, Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Basketball Team, Talk N Text Tropang Texters

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Pacquiao 24/7: Manny takes a beating in episode 2, but at least he gets a nice soundtrack
Editor’s note: Manny Pacquiao’s buildup for his mega-fight with Miguel Cotto continues. After turmoil in Pac-Man’s camp in the first episode of Pacquiao-Cotto 24/7, thing began to settle down for the pound-for-pound champ. Fire Quinito’s special guest cri

Weblog: Fire Quinito
Tracked: Nov 07, 13:07

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Comments

#1 reigun on 2009-11-05 18:07 (Reply)

he punched some good pumpkins back there. but definitely its a pacman win over kimmel, tko.

#2 hectorhannibal on 2009-11-06 01:24 (Reply)

you can never really gauge how good manny pacquiao's basketball game is because no one dares foul him or even stand in his way when he drives. everyone he plays is probably on the payroll or wants to be on his good side. it's a brave opponent who fouls him hard or even holds up a hand when he shoots. needless to say, the man who injures pacquiao playing basketball and causes him to lose a fight stands a good chance of getting killed. if not by the entourage, then by any filipino boxing fan.

#3 j_myxx | PatayAngButiki on 2009-11-06 01:31 (Reply)

nice to have you back, jae.

had a feeling you'd answer that purefoods question with a simple "ryan gregorio." haha.

and yes, bill walton rules. how many guys would equate boris diaw with beethoven? well, if you've seen him with the bobcats, my guess is zero.

#3.1 jaemark on 2009-11-06 13:15 (Reply)

hahaha. actually, to be fair, the culprit here would be koy banal, purefoods' "defensive coordinator" who just seemed to stop coaching d after their 2008 philippine cup campaign.

#4 Maverick on 2009-11-06 15:33 (Reply)

Thanks for the incredible shout-out, FQ.

#4.1 jaemark on 2009-11-06 19:10 (Reply)

you're welcome. even though it hurt me physically to give props to an alaska fan. hehe, kidding!