Michael Jordan's Top 10 Shots

Remember when MJ started out his NBA career by throwing up a lot of crazy shots like these? He would dunk like crazy on everyone more so when there was a seven-footer in the lane, but not everyone could throwdown a slam like he could so these alahoy shots were the closest thing to heaven for ballers.

Interestingly enough, by his second coming, his best shots were a variety of fades and trick shots. I have all the Jordan and Bulls DVDs (Region 1) and pulling out that old Come Fly With Me just reminded me of how nasty His Airness was back in the day. In hindsight, people can say that he might have not been the ideal teammate (Scottie Pippen was they claim), but that's what the team needed to win -- someone with that iron-clad will to demand the ball and tell everyone to get the F out of the way. Look at the current team -- they might be more athletically gifted than those previous Bulls teams but they're not as mentally strong.

Enjoy this for old times' sake.

Aye, there's the rub, lads.

Last week while at the office, one of the Australian bosses arrived for work and saw a number of people in the lobby waiting for a meeting or presentation with someone at the company. She slipped over a number of magazines to the waiting folks while announcing that they were football magazines. The Filipinos grinned and browsed through the magazine for a minute or two before placing them on top of the table. "Football," one shook his head and said to no one in particular. "Hindi ko naintindihan 'tong laro."

It's fine really. To each his own.

A friend of mine received an invitation to a tryout for a French Ligue 1 team this summer (ours not theirs). I saw the letter, "football is played here as a recreational sport not anything else." I have to admit that one hurt a bit.

During my recent trip to Bangkok on work, one of our British partners was astonished that I knew so much about football and was infinitely passionate about the game. "But don't Filipinos like basketball and the NBA," he quizzed as he was unable to disguise his wonderment. I explained myself rather eloquently but I also received the shock of my life when he admitted to loving the NBA in return. I then remarked to everyone that it reminded me of a Charles Barkley quote, "You know the world has gone crazy when the best rapper is white and the best golfer is black."

Now does that remind you of Hillary Clinton coming under sniper fire when she visited Serbia? No? Bwahahaha.

On the SBP-BAP matter

Someone asked me the other day why I stopped writing about stuff like the PCU problem and the SBP-BAP row and my answer was simple, "I don't enjoy writing about bad news." The scoop is fine -- the good Lord knows I have been blessed with a number of them -- but that isn't all there is.

I'd rather look into humorous ones, historical tomes, and feel-good stories. We have enough columnists and writers who write about Pacquiao ad infinitum.

But I did ask around regarding the SBP-BAP row and here it is:

On Pato Gregorio's resignation, here's the general consensus of three people (in the know) I spoke with:
"We wondered if he was the right person for the job. I guess Noli Eala knew who he was that's why he recommended him. Unfortunately, Pato liked to talk more than actually really do something. Parang minsan he was playing both sides. Puro name dropping left and right. Many of the structures that are in place there have existed before. Nadagdagan lang. There was nothing novel in what he did. He says he resigned because of the politics? Why get into it in the first place? Even before he came on board, it was already rife with politicking and infighting. How different is that from the government on a macro level and even a dysfunctional family on a micro level? He could have done more with less talk and more actions. "

On the coming SBP-BAP elections"
"At this point the BAP submitted a list of 66 leagues or associations. However, they have not complied with various requirements that were in place when this whole thing started. They lack the pre-requisite three-year tournament operational status and registration with SEC among others. So what numbers they are talking about we don't know. But we don't know what other cards they have up their sleeve."

One BAP official said that they will capitalize on "Gregorio's weaknesses and (Manny) Pangilinan's lack of a stomach for grind-it-out-politics" to seize the NSA once more."

I have not spoken with Pato Gregorio regarding this matter (I texted and got no reply yet) and BAP Proxy Butch Pichay promised an interview but hasn't fixed a time and day for it. Of course, you'll see it in the pages of the paper I write and here in the blog when I am able to do so.

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.

This is something I wrote four years ago. In the light of Kansas' recent championship, I thought about posting it here.

By the time I was cosmically aware of sports, Wilt Chamberlain had hung up his Chuck Taylors. As usual, the Boston Celtics were king with Dave Cowens and John Havlicek. I rooted for the Philadelphia 76ers with a rabid passion only a young boy could muster. Why not when the Doc took to the air like no other and as a result captured the hearts of fans everywhere? By affinity I liked Wilt because he once led the Sixers to the NBA's best record. They too won a championship before he jumped ship to the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, I didn't root for him then. I don't like the West.

I thought it too bad that he ran into Russ once to often. Any other time, he would have won more titles. That must have been how guys like Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing, Dominique Wilkins, and Brad Daugherty felt decades later when a bald headed Tar Heel ruled the Association.

Nevertheless, here it is. Thanks, Wilt!

40 years after Wilton Norman Chamberlain left Lawrence, Kansas.
40 years after a loss that haunted him until his dying day.
40 years after he last uttered that time-honored cheer that Jayhawks teams would scream in unison after breaking the huddle.
He was back. And he thundered that one last time to the 16,000 screaming Kansas fans who had packed the Allen Fieldhouse.

“Rock chalk, Jayhawk!”

Wearing his old crimson and blue letterman jacket (that still remarkably fit him after all these years), the 7’1 Big Dipper saw his old #13, that he had worn with Kansas (and later on with the Globetrotters, the Warriors, the 76ers, and the Lakers) raised to the rafters.

Wilt never thought it would come to this. Not after a painful triple-overtime loss 54-53 to the Frank Maguire’s undefeated UNC Tar Heels (Ironically, Maguire would later be his first professional coach with the Warriors) in the NCAA title game in March 23, 1957. After the game, Chamberlain walked the streets of Lawrence, Kansas City until the wee hours of dawn, the light drizzle hiding the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. He avoided people, afraid that he’d be hated for losing the title game (this game changed college basketball forever putting the game into America’s national consciousness) when he was clearly the game’s biggest offensive force. The galling loss haunted him all the way to the following season, that soon after its completion, he departed to play for the Harlem Globetrotters foregoing his senior year.

He avoided all treatises to return to Kansas, fearful that a hostile crowd would greet him. It didn’t help that the tag as the player who couldn’t win the big games clearly ate at him (although he did win two NBA titles: one with the Sixers and one with the Lakers). It took the 100th year anniversary of Kansas basketball for him to return but he did with much trepidation. In the tunnel that Jayhawks players use to enter and exit, the Big Dipper, nervous about the reception that Kansas fans would give him perspired heavily. Then the chants cascaded up and down the rocking Allen Fieldhouse, “Wilt! Wilt! Wilt!”

Choked with emotion, fighting back the tears, a nervous and shy Big Dipper took to floor one he had not strode onto in 40 years. And still he tried to explain: "A little over 40 years ago, I lost my toughest battle in sports in losing to the North Carolina Tar Heels. ... It was a devastating thing to me because I thought I let the University of Kansas down and my teammates down. But when I come back here today and realize not the simple loss of a game, but how many people have shown such appreciation and warmth, I'm humbled and deeply honored. ... I'm a Jayhawk and I know now why there is so much tradition here and why so many wonderful things have come from here, and I am now very much a part of it by being there and very proud of it. ... Rock chalk, Jayhawk.”

But there was no need for explanations, Jayhawk fans loved him nevertheless. And the love fest continued for nearly four hours.

Wilt later described that day as “the greatest moment in his life.” He left 40 years ago feeling unloved and disconsolate. He came back 40 years later, grateful and relieved.

Less than a year later, Wilt Chamberlain died of a heart attack.

The following have their numbers retired by Kansas:

Those who played in the modern age of hoops:
#13 Wilt Chamberlain
#4 Nick Collison
#0 Drew Gooden
#25 Danny Manning
#34 Paul Pierce
#45 Raef LaFrentz
#15 Jo Jo White
#11 Jacque Vaughn

other players in the NBA:
Kirk Hinrich
Greg Ostertag
Scott Pollard

My first Sports Illustrated

This is the very first issue of Sports Illustrated that I purchased. Sure I got some hand-me-downs, but this one I got through my allowance.

Rich Karlis' field goal beat Bernie Kosar and the Cleveland Browns as the Denver Broncos went on to face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena (speaking of Pasadena, check out gjaysworld.org about an accident in the city that took the life of a young boy).

Bill Parcell's Giants behind QB Phil Simms, TE Mark Bavaro, and LB Lawrence Taylor won 39-20 for their first title in the modern era.

Dude, the announcers then were Pat Summerall and John Madden. That was a fun game even if the Broncos lost.

US NCAA's: One Shining Moment

The King of Pain

(This is an excerpt from my upcoming Bleachers' Brew column. Photos by Mark Humphrey.)

Martina Navratilova pegged it right, “Whoever said, ‘It's not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost.” Sports has a dichotomous nature that I both love and hate. It can be an uplifting experience that some say can be better than sex. Yet at times, it reminds me of a bad break up. You move on. You get over it or you think you do, but every now and then you stop and say, “Damn.” And your mind wanders through myriad roads of “what if?”

It even plays with your heart rate like it was a pinball game.

Not every one feels like Jo-Wilfreid Tsonga who made it to the Men’s Finals of the Australian Open where even in defeat he was glad to be there. Or even like Barnsley which eliminated Liverpool and Chelsea in succession the FA Cup Finals be damned. It was quite a ride, eh, lads?

The Beatles put it so well in Golden Slumbers, “Boy, you’re gonna carry that weight a long time (you know it's a Paul McCartney penned song when it starts out so peacefully then ends up in a deranged rocker)."

Ask Rudy Tomjanovich about 1977. He may have won as the Houston Rockets coach later on but there are some things you can never exorcise. I saw it up close in 2003 as my beloved New York Yankees took it on the chin from the Florida Marlins. I watched in silence as the Bronx Bombers watched the victorious National Leaguers whoop it up on that hallowed patch of earth that in many ways was the godfather of Boston Garden’s leprechauns. I felt that sickening knot in my stomach as I was the last one to leave Araneta Coliseum when the UST Tigers snatched what was a sure victory for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Someone asked the transplanted New Yorker in me if I root for the New York Knicks. I responded with, “Now why would I want to flagellate myself? No one can be such a masochist.” Then again I realize that Isiah Thomas is nothing more than a prophet of doom so woe to the Knicks faithful.

Times like this, I wish I wasn’t a sports writer. Everything remains in vivid high-def color in my mind and my keyboard. I reside in the church of the poisoned mind.

But life goes on and move on I, we, must.

Until I encountered the Memphis Tigers who went down in defeat to the Kansas Jayhawks.

"Boy, you're gonna carry that weight a long time."

Move on up

Liverpool FC keeper Pepe Reina lets out a scream of delight as the Reds stormed into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the third time in four years after a stunning finish to the game brought three goals in eight minutes and a disappointing end to Arsenal FC's campaign. My youngest son -- who is an Arsenal fan -- is mildly upset. At least he knows dad's team is moving on.

Now we're off to dust off Chelsea and hopefully gain revenge on Manchester United. (pic from UEFA)

The Dream and a Dream List

If you were a die-hard NBA fan in the 1980's, you bought your NBA betamax videos at a stall at the top floor of Virra Mall in Greenhills. They sold everything from the All-Star Weekend to the NBA Finals. And when Michael Jordan's Come Fly With Me became more popular than Vivian Velez' sex tape, that was the place to go.

Looking for something back then was like a quest for the Holy Grail. Nowadays, you have amazon, ebay, craigslist, and Divisoria.

One of those tapes that I bought was one of those first NBA videos... NBA Superstars where they set the highlight reel of some superstars to popular music. There was Larry Bird taking all sorts of crazy shots to John Cougar Mellencamp's "Small Town," Michael Jordan taking off with an F-14 Tomcat taking off from an aircraft carrier to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away," and Charles Barkley dunking with reckless abandon to Scandal's "The Warrior." My favorite was Dominique Wilkins stupefying everyone with his rim rattlers set to Yanni's "Through the Looking Glass." That was frigging awesome.

There were a few more vids in the tape and one of the least ones I liked was Akeem (minus the "H") Olajuwon twisting opposing centers and forwards into pretzels in sync to Kool Moe Dee's "How Ya Like Me Now." I thought it was cheesy maybe even somewhat lame. But the Dream's game was anything but. Even as a young stud out of Houston, he was an amalgam of Maurice Lucas and Moses Malone inside the lane. His two NBA titles -- as the caretaker of the Larry O'Brien trophy while Michael Jordan was on his baseball sabbatical -- are proof of his greatness.



The Dream will be entering the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame along with another center who was all-world during that time -- Patrick Ewing. I'm not going to even start a debate here as to who was better because the answer if pretty obvious, but Olajuwon was then the latest model in a long line of great centers that Houston seemed to be known for -- Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Ralph Sampson (for awhile), then the Dream. Yao Ming is the latest in that long and distinguished line.

I'll forgive those yahoos who set the Dream's moves to Kool Moe Dee, but dude, I still see Olajuwon ditching David Robinson like he had no business on an NBA court. Congrats to the Dream for a great basketball career and being a successful real estate agent in the Houston area.

With that, here's my Top 10 Greatest NBA Centers of All Time:
1. Bill Russell - 11 championships in 13 seasons. Add to that 2 NCAA titles and an Olympic Gold Medal. And he was playing coach too in the last couple of years. Is there any other ultimate winner out there?

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 5 championships, 6 MVP Awards, and the Skyhook. And as finesse as people made him out to be, Kareem was not. In the same season where Kermit Washington nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich with The Punch, Abdul-Jabbar started the season with a knockout. He slugged the Milwaukee Bucks' Kent Benson and broke his hand causing him to miss a few weeks that eventually derailed the season (if you ask me it was the Washington-Tomjanovich incident that sent the Lakers' season in a tailspin that year).

3. Wilt Chamberlain - Many would place him at the top of the all-time centers list but I am not many. He may have wrote the record book on records but he certainly should have won more than the two NBA titles he has in his pocket.

4. Shaquille O'Neal - If you're big, fast, and strong, who needs a jumpshot? Now if only he learned from Charles Barkley about off-season conditioning, he could be at number two on this list.

5. Hakeem Olajuwon - Football's loss is basketball's gain. Even as a young buck he led the upstart Rockets against a tough and great Boston Celtics team. While Ralph Sampson was busy picking a fight with a guy half his size, Olajuwon was cutting Robert Parish and Kevin McHale down to size.

6. George Mikan - He's not here because of the obligatory Golden Age representative. He's on this list because he started the first dynasty in pro sports anywhere in the world.

7. Moses Malone - He was the Wilt Chamberlain of his era by strapping teams on his back to the NBA Finals where he won one and lost another.

8. Bill Walton - When he was healthy, he was otherworldly. When he wasn't. he was in a world of pain. But two NBA titles -- one with Portland and one with Boston are testament that he wasn't a one-hit wonder.

9. David Robinson -- I really don't think he should be in the Top 10 notwithstanding his 2 titles. I'd say that those two were more because Tim Duncan was on board. The Big Fundamental showed he is the Big Spur on the league's backside by winning two more when the Admiral was in the stands on retirement. But D-Rob's accomplishments and on court power still make him a force to reckon with. Sorry, Relster!

10. Patrick Ewing - The best jump-shooting center. He'd trade that rep for a trophy. Had the misfortune of playing in the same conference as one Michael Jeffrey Jordan who derailed most of his title aspirations.

Man, can he ever light it up!

Where's Kesinee?

According to Charo Soriano, Lithawat Kesinee is finishing her Masters Degree right now. She only re-enrolled a month ago so she couldn't commit to the V-League.

Bleachers' Brew #102 The Underdogs

(This appears in my Monday, April 7, 2008 column in the sports section of Business Mirror.)


The old coach had some words of advice for the young and upcoming one.

“After a player’s fourth year in college, ask him if he’s coming back to play in his final year of eligibility or if he’s turning pro. Let them make the decision.”

That was the first nugget of wisdom that the late and long-time National University basketball coach Sonny Paguia imparted to Manny Dandan who was tapped to take his place on the Bulldogs bench in 1998 after battling a lingering illness.

As far as Paguia and the school was concerned, anyone who donned their school’s colors were students first and athletes second. In many ways, the smallness of the school (at that time Paguia handed the reins over to Dandan the university was about to celebrate its centennial), its vision and its meager sports budget dictated this policy. When one heard, “NU Bulldogs,” it immediately connoted a condescending and at once belittling term… “league doormats.”

It’s a painful tag to earn the sobriquet of the Philippines’ version of the hapless and sad sack Washington Generals, the Harlem Globetrotters’ eternal whipping boys. But the comparison ends there for NU does a little whipping of its own.

Coach Sonny’s second piece of advice was the overriding factor: “During a player’s first four years in school, make sure he graduates and that you train him so you can whip the boy to be a man.”

It’s something that former player Romulo Austria knows so well. One time a game conflicted with an exam. For Coach Sonny, it was a non-issue. Austria took the test and graduated on time. He is now a licensed civil engineer.

“In those four years, our students are expected to have completed their academic requirements,” explained Dandan. “By their fifth year if they need to concentrate on their career in the Philippine Basketball League or in the pros, who are we to stop them? They have dependents to consider.”

The volleyball coach Juanito Candoy Jr, is another venerable institution in the Sampaloc-based school He’s been at the job for 25 years in dual roles of Physical Education instructor and mentor of the men’s and women’s teams. “One of the biggest problems we have is inculcating school pride,” says the affable coach who always has a ready smile for everyone. “Kadalasan we get our players from the intramurals. If we’re able to recruit, they are those who have not been accepted by the bigger programs. So meron na silang blow sa self-estem nila. So that’s another concern. Getting them to raise their confidence.”

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. When NU fielded a strong team in the late 90’s with Danny Ildefonso and Lordy Tugade leading the way, they went into every match with a chip on their shoulder. However, consistency was the problem as they got up to play with the bigger schools but played lackadaisically against the lower seeded teams. “Pero okay na yung mundo namin,” recounted Ildefonso. “Simple lang kami. Masarap yung feeling na panalo tapos sumasalubong yung mga schoolmates mo at magme-merienda kami ng pancit bihon.”

For former point guard Froilan Baguion who now plays for Welcoat in the Philippine Basketball Association, he thought that the highest he could aspire for was playing in the inter-barangay leagues in Navotas. When a friend invited him to try out in Manila, he found himself cut by the University of the East and University of Manila. “Importante sa akin makakuha ng pagkakataon makapasok sa college at makapagbasketbol,” said the feisty point guard who was later named to the Mythical Five Selection (and Most Improved Player in 2002 season of Universities Athletics Association of the Philippines. “Hindi naman kami mayaman at ito yung pagkakataon na tulungan ang pamilya ko. Sa team ko noon (with teammates Jeff Napa, Rey Mendoza, and Alfie Grijaldo), sigaw namin na sasakmalin ng bulldogs yung mga kalaban.”

Coach Juanito related the sad plight of Raymond Franza, the setter for the current men’s volleyball who doesn’t exactly come from a well-off family. “Sometimes he comes to practice not having eaten. But his teammates come to the rescue by sharing what they can for his breakfast. The upside is that it builds character for the team and it makes them closer and more determined to rise above their current state. So we always tell them to work on their studies because sa basketball lang naman ang may pera tapos hindi pa lahat nabibigyan ng chance umangat sa PBA. It’s a learning experience for us coaches and teachers as well.”

The help sometimes comes from unexpected quarters. NU’s two PBA superstars – Ildefonso and Tugade – are like Santa Clauses in high-tops for they routinely visit their alma mater bearing sacks full of sneakers, socks, and other basketball equipment. Baguion who now has the means to provide for his family says that when he establishes a more secure contract, he will do his share for his old school: “Pinakita lang ako ng kabaitan ng mg tao sa NU, sana nga makatulong na rin ako.”

Vice President for Administration Bobby Paguia confirmed that things might be looking up for the school’s varsity teams. “Hopefully we’ll see the upgrade on the facilities happen soon.”

Confirmed Dandan, “Dahil sa wastong facilities, magkakaroon kami ng kakayahan mahukay ng husto yung abilidad ng mga bata. We’re also looking at sustenance and nutrition programs that will not only improve their health but their frame of mind. It will complement the grassroots program that we have installed. It will also allow the high school players to move up to the senior ranks para meron fluidity sa program. We are never going to win the race for the blue chip recruits, but we’ll always try to come up with a competitive team backed up by some finds.”

Dr. Arline Royo, NU’s indefatigable Athletic Director who also serves as the school’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Registrar tries to be present in every single game of all the teams. Prior to her recent angioplasty from which she is recovering, she said, “We may not have much in terms of funds, but we try to compensate in other ways. And one of them is to provide a family atmosphere for all. And sometimes an audience for or athletes means a lot to them.”

But those “doormat” days will soon be over for these underdogs. “We’re bringing in the younger generation to manage the school and slowly take over,” said Bobby Paguia. “With the new coaches and a better program, NU will be more competitive.”

And that’s not a word of advice. It’s fair warning.

Speedy recovery to Dr. Arline Royo. Thanks to coaches Manny & Juanito and to Tito Bobby. To Froi Baguion, Danny Ildefonso, and Jeff Napa.

Poll Results: This year's NBA MVP is:

Chris Paul (of the New Orleans Hornets) - 19 votes
Kobe Bryant (of the LA Lakers) - 11 votes
Kevin Garnett (of the Boston Celtics) - 9 votes
LeBron James (of the Cleveland Cavaliers) - 3 votes
some other player - 2 votes

Odmore in mire, Hrvoje.

Hrvoje Custic, the 24-year old striker for Croatian team NK Zadar died three days ago resulting from massive head injuries he sustained when he crashed against a concrete wall after slipping off the pitch during a game.

I felt weak after reading this horrific bit of news. It's really sad when you hear of athletes who die while playing the game they love. Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta also died in this current football season when he suffered cardiac arrest during a game against Getafe in the Spanish La Liga. Puerta, like Custic, suffered massive organ failure three days after the incident.

I love watching football regardless of what league and country. I don't get to watch much football from outside the major Euro leagues but I stay abreast through Four Four Two and World Soccer.

The Croatian kit may not be the best looking one owing to its goofy red checkers -- methinks they're the only side that uses the design -- but I like it. Maybe because outside France and Argentina, I like the Croatian team. Man, they were a rising power in Europe in the late 90's. It's a good thing that their game has picked up once more as they head into Euro 2008 brimming with confidence (more so after eliminating underachieving England).

But to Custic... rest in peace, man. Maybe you and Puerta can form a side up there.


This is the wall where Custic crashed into which is located in NK Zadar's home field of Stanovi Stadium. Two meters from the end of the pitch isn't any measure of safety.

To quote Magic Johnson, "Let's all go home!"

Three Jerrys and a Don

I've always thought that there were some geniuses for General Managers in the NBA. Jerry West may probably be the most lauded of them all. How he turned the Los Angeles Lakers into a power is the stuff of legend. He had a modicum of success in Memphis but Mr. Clutch is still the standard for GMs.

Jerry Colangelo is another. How he turned around the Phoenix Suns after that drug scandal is a masterstroke that changed the franchise for the next couple of decades. The Valley of the Sun became a desirable destination for free agents with the professional atmosphere cultivated by Colangelo, and coaches Cotton Fitzsimmons and Paul Westphal? Who would have thought that unlikely cast-offs Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers, Mark West, Richard Dumas, and Charles Barkley would turn the team into a contender?

One can make a case for the much-maligned former Chicago Bulls' GM Jerry Krause (have you noticed that they're all named Jerry) after all he not only surrounded Michael Jordan with great talent but he brought in quite a few serviceable players in the post-championship era.

But another oft overlook GM is Donnie Walsh. He too turned the Indiana Pacers around and his longevity with the club gave it legitimacy, consistency, and good basketball sense. Until the Malice at the Palace. He also gave a couple of novice coaches their first jobs... Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird. It's hard to believe that Thomas was pretty good early on but bombed out in the end in a devastating way with the New York Knicks.

The word is now that former Knicks Rookie of the Year Mark "Action" Jackson is a strong favorite for next season's coach. Walsh must see something good in Jackson who was also his player in Indiana and who later played for the Toronto Raptors.

In other news, word is from the Windy City that Rick Carlisle might be the next Bulls' coach. Er, his style is very much like the recently deposed Scott Skiles. What are you thinking, Johnny Pax? Bring Manu Ginobili over from San Antonio if you must. He could be the next coming of (his idol) Michael Jordan over there.

What's going on?

I'm wondering what's going on in Ateneo sports? The program heads of baseball and football were removed. The coaches of volleyball and table tennis are out. The women's basketball team voted its coach out. In recent years it was the swimming and baseball programs. Maybe they should review the people running the show over there because some protocol and due process needs to be practiced over there. Oh, and someone else is going to attend the football coaching course in Japan.

I'm not bloodthirsty this morning but it needs to be said

How many times does it need to be said?

Man, one of the all-time greats just tarnished his career. Karma's a bitch, ain't it?

His facial expression calls to mind Derrick Coleman's quotable quote when he was with the New Jersey Nets,
"Whoop-de-damn-do."

Red Star. Red Ball.

adidas started a trend beginning with last year's UEFA Champions League Finals in Athens (where AC Milan got their revenge on Liverpool, sob) by coming up with the official ball that made use of the host's symbols. And this year, it's no different for the finals in Moscow.

Check out this cool pic.

Old Big Ears comes to Moscow.
In an impressive ceremony at the GUM centre in Moscow's Red Square, the 2007 champions, AC Milan, handed the UEFA Champions League trophy back to UEFA's President, Michel Platini. He then passed the trophy to the Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, for the city to keep and display to the public until the final.

Reclaiming a legacy

During the 1978-79 NBA season, the Boston Celtics were aging team far removed from their championships in the mid-70's. Dave Cowens was on his way out and the team was led by Cornbread Maxwell. Sure they had Tiny Archibald, but they could only 29-53 for fifth place in the Atlantic. That season they were coached by former Celtics great Satch Sanders and later in the year by Cowens himself.

Boston finally brought on board its previous year's pick Larry Bird the following year and embarked then on the league's best turn-around at that point by finishing 61-21 (they also had a broken down Pete Maravich and Don Chaney on their roster). A remarkable 32 more wins that was the benchmark up to Tim Duncan's rookie season in 1998 when the San Antonio Spurs bettered their 1996-97 20-62 record to 56-26. A 36-game improvement.

This 2007-08 season, the Celtics reclaimed that record when they tied the Spurs record when they plastered Indiana 92-77 to go 60-15 with seven games remaining. It stands to reason that they'll break it and claim the record for their own unless they begin tanking games.

Kevin Garnett is a huge reason for this remarkable turnaround. Sure they also got Ray Allen, James Posey, Eddie House, and some others, but make no mistake. No KG. No chance. Now the Boston faithful can light up Red's victory cigars if they reclaim the Larry O'Brien trophy.