Pacman, Man of the Fans

Another great Pacman video. It’s by Elie Seckbach, aka the Embedded Correspondent, aka Kobe’s Favorite Youtube Reporter.

Manny Pacquiao is known as “The People’s Champ”, as he is a hero to millions and was also recently named one of the world’s most influential people by Time Magazine. In this exclusive video we catch up with Manny after a long day of training. Tired and hungry, he sticks around the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood to greet hundreds and hundreds of excited fans. From FH.

The whole video is nice but wait ’til the end… Elie Seckbach ends all his report with a smile. Check that smile.

HBO 24/7 Pacquiao - Hatton Episode 3

I wanted to update my Manny Pacquiao - Ricky Hatton newslinks, but it’s way buried. And so, I am embedding this HBO Episode 3 here, a new post. If good karma is real & happening, Manny Pacquiao will be the last man standing in their May 3 duel. Manny accomodates ALL the fans… Manny trains hard… Manny looks so cool doing a ceremonial pitch… Manny tries to pick up a fallen spar mate… Manny waits for Momma even past midnight… and Manny prays all the time…

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2009 Fiesta Cup Rankings (as of April 24,2009)

Before we go to the Rankings, these are the best imports in the current conference:

NUMBER 5: SHAWN DANIELS – Yes, the BK Whopper is playing backup to the locals but for Yeng Guiao, this is a good thing. That is, unless the Whoppers intend on bringing an import that would dominate rather than letting his teammates shine.

NUMBER 4: ROSELL ELLIS – Making up for the mess Galen Young left, the former McNeese State alum transformed the Aces back to their usual contending selves. #75 is almost a robot designed to catapult the Aces back to the top spot with a single weakness that is identified as his free throws.

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Nike Zoom Soldier III Designed for James’ Post-Season Run

NIKE DELIVERS LEBRON JAMES HIS LIGHTEST SHOE YET.  Nike Zoom Soldier III Designed for James’ Post-Season Run

LeBron James debuted the Nike Zoom Soldier III on court when Cleveland beat Detroit for the first game in their first round series. Designed with James’ playoff needs in mind, the Nike Zoom Soldier III is the lightest shoe designed for James, to date, with this Nike Zoom Solider series becoming LeBron’s perennial playoff footwear.

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Somehow, Kings Are Back

The crowd darling Ginebra GinKings registered its 4th win in the ongoing PBA Fiesta Cup against the other King, Burger King. It was also the third straight win for Ginebra after their slow start in the said tournament. David Noel, the Kings new import paced them with a triple double of 22 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists which most of them ( assists) Eric Menk was the recipient in the crucial stages of the game.

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The Flash and the Furious Review: April 19, 2009

What up! Sunday is a great time to catch two shirtless men sweaty and hugging with brutal insinuations for some kind of thing you wrap in your waist.

This statement should also work in pro wrestling, MMA, and ping pong.

Anywho…

Three things will bug me in this event’s telecast and I expect at least a 66 percent chance of success in this statement.

Commercials: They were many, but it was understandable. Of all the commercials, I loved the LBC TVC. Who orders a rolled-up sheet of paper to whack someone with thru LBC? My guess is SOMEONE THAT’S FREAKIN’ AWESOME! If I become a boss, that’s the first thing I would do! EMPLOYEES BEWARE!!! The ad that I hate is a tie: The Love Radio ad was conceptually-not-that-botched but it looked old and it seemed like a student made it. The video quality was poor and it proved reasons why non-TV media should stick to non-TV ways to promote their non-TV media! The Tanduay ad however, is a serious waste of cash. I honestly believe that when they asked the viewers if they want to go to Boracay, they would create some sort of raffle to do so. This assumption was freaking wrong because the ad was meant to tell the viewers that missing Boracay means making a Boracay café with pints of Tanduay! Somewhere in the United States, Marshall McLuhan is pissed as hell in his grave…

Which brings me to my next rant…

National Anthem singer: I admit, I was only going to watch the Donaire fight so I caught the Villoria match midway in the fourth round. After the glee I witnessed from the Villoria fight, the next thing I saw was the playing of the US anthem. And then… QUE HORROR! Sure, Tanduay is a major sponsor for the event and they should get some sort of freebie for dishing out the goods to make this event possible, However, making NEY OF 6CYCLEMIND sing the national anthem was bad! First of all, without the band, he’s just a guy singing. They could have just asked some random GMA singer to sing the anthem but no, they just snatched some guy dressed in ordinary clothing, to sing a song that is going to be televised in almost all parts of earth! I mean, if you saw Lani Misalucha, Kyla, Regine Velasquez, Sarah Geronimo, and other singers, one thing you’ll notice is they take the singing of the national anthem as a privilege and as serious as possible. And finally, the gravest of them all. Why is he doing an RNB version of our anthem? Didn’t someone paged him that Lupang Hinirang is a marching song and anyone that violates this will get a fine that could more or less be jail time? I don’t know if that is the case but Ney certainly made the song his and his unique version made a lot of buzz surrounding the judges… boxing judges… THIS IS NOT AMERICAN IDOL!!!

And finally:

Chavit: From the ringside seats to the bleachers area, everybody that is inside the arena, shouting recklessly until the last second of the match are boxing fans. But unlike the normal boxing fan, they do not have the stomach to troop to the ring unlike Chavit. No, I don’t have anything against the former senatoriable. I will always respect a man that owns a tiger inside his premises. However, sighting Chavit in a Pinoy boxing match is like sighting the actual boxing ring: He is always there! A Top Rank Production where a Pinoy fighter is about to contend… he’s always there!

Anyway, here are the matches proper:

Ulises Solis (champion) versus Brian Viloria (challenger)
For the IBF Light-Flyweight title

I must admit, I am one of the few that didn’t think Viloria could perform on the top level. I mean, yeah, he won a title back in ’06, but the way he lost the title and then his constant yearnings to retire made me look at him as some kind of guy who’ll actually prefer doing commentary than seriously being in the ring. This is the reason why I just caught his fight on the fourth round: I don’t think he could win without a hometown decision. Solis is not like those foreign fighters that would more or less hit the deck on the opening bell. He is a champion – in his eighth title defense. I know if the Pinoy surge is 50-50 then Donaire will win and Viloria will take the L.
I am currently eating my words.

This bout is the better bout between the two. Viloria started off strong in which one monster blow placed Solis on a one-way trip to Cut City. However, in the middle rounds, Solis regained his form and started to act urgently. At this point critics wonder if Viloria returned to his normal “quitter” outlook, or if he punched his power out, or if Solis was getting the better off him.

The answer was neither. While Solis became extra aggressive in the final rounds, Viloria showed that he was merely saving his strengths for the final hurrah. Solis is a hard boxer to KO, so slugging in the final rounds and winning in the scorecards was his only option to get a clear win and shake off the “hometown” factor. Problem is, this was the same route that Solis was eager to take. Solis had too much to think about: lost rounds, hometown decision, and let us not forget the deducted points he received when his body punches landed near the crotch.

And then came the 11th round. With Viloria dominating and pressing, and Solis merely looking for that lucky punch, the Hawaiian Punch strikes an almost-perfect right straight hook to the head of Solis. The next scene pretty much ends the bout: Solis’ feet wobbly… Solis’ body shaky… and then Solis’ back kisses the mat. Viloria would take the same stance, but this is merely due to ecstatic jubilation.

I hope this won’t be another one-win moment for Viloria because with that win, he pretty much earns the right to be named champ. Hats off also for Solis for bringing in a stellar show and to lose graciously despite the odds stacked against him.

Winner: Viloria (11th round KO)
Match Analysis: 9/10 – A want a rematch… on even grounds!

Nonito Donaire (champion) versus Raul Martinez (challenger)
For the IBF Flyweight title

This was pretty much a one-sided deal. Martinez is an undefeated Hispanic-American that boasts an all-knockout victory but most of the opponents he faced are no-namers. Donaire however, edge The Cobrita in size, reach, and in the outcome of the fight… speed. Donaire was freaking awesome: landing three knockouts in the first two rounds! The way he fought was insane, especially in dealing with Martinez’ vaulted super-sealed defense. Well, the problem of defending is that you are taking away your points production. That’s why it was important for the Flash to claim those landing areas whenever he gets the chance.

The ending of the fight sucked, however. I mean, from the start of the round, Martinez will not hold his own against Nonito. However, fans clamor for a knockout. When the match ended, Martinez was not down on the mat… nor was he bathing in blood. He was arguing with the refs because of a knockout that could be argued as a slippage. While it didn’t look like it, the matched was stopped to protect Martinez’ from further injuries.

But the sight of a foe without any signs of mutilation, carrying an opponent’s flag could either be a great ending for the event… or some pug that lost his train of thought and now is prancing to the crowd on what he thinks is his homeland’s flag.

Winner: Donaire (Fourth round – TKO)
Match Analysis: 6/10 – This should have been a ten if there was a knockout.

May 2 (May 3 Manila Time) would signal the Pacquiao-Hatton, East meets West bout.

Chris’ Post-UFC 97 Blog

Two days after another massive event for the UFC in Canada, I’ll be discussing some noteworthy events that happened in the said event.

First up, the one big question that is being asked is.. what on earth happened to Anderson Silva and the main event at UFC 97?

Most fight fans are outraged with the way UFC 97 ended. Anderson Silva, the supposed to be UFC’s smashing machine finished another night with a snoozer. For the second straight time, Anderson danced around the ring, showboated for most of the time and this time, finished with his first decision victory in his UFC career.

Anderson did what he had to do to win, of course, regardless of what the fans and critics says, that was still a dominating performance by Anderson. But when I say dominating, I mean Tim Sylvia-esque dominating. It’s probably not fair and proper to Anderson to compare him to Tim Sylvia but that’s what the 21,000 fans on the Bell Center saw two days ago during the main event.

Sure, Thales Leites should also be blamed for the snoozer mainly because of his uhm.. improper way of trying to get the fight to the ground but we’ve seen them stand toe to toe for most of the time during the fight and Anderson Silva decided to dance around while he could’ve and should’ve attempted to go for the finish.

Another thing why Anderson’s getting so much heat from the fight is his refusal to fight Thales in the ground. I mean, sure Thales Leites is a phenomenal Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter but, Anderson Silva is no Houston Alexander on the ground either. He’s not some one dimensional striker who’s like a fish out of the water in the ground, he’s a legitimate black belt from the Nogueira brothers and he decides to play safe instead of trying to follow through in the ground.

That of which brings most fans into the undying issue of who the best P4P fighter in the world really is. My friend even said that Dana should be embarrassed for hyping up Anderson the way he did because back then, Fedor Emelianenko would go on and destroy fighters in their strengths. Fedor beat Cro Cop standing, unleashed a brutal ground and pound to Big Nog and so on. And that is what Anderson Silva failed to deliver the other night.

To seal the deal, here’s my take on the entire issue.

Should Anderson Silva be blamed for playing it safe in the fight against Leites?

No, absolutely not. It’s Anderson Silva’s decision to fight whatever style of fighting he wants to fight. That’s him fighting in the cage, not me, not you and not the fat guy on the 14^th row that’s booing the fight. If he decides to play it safe and stick to jab, kick combo, that’s his decision.

Does Anderson deserve to get all those boos and negative reactions from the fans and critics alike from that fight?

Unfortunately, yes. That’s the price you pay for hyping up a fighter too much. People paid 49.95$ on PPV or about a thousand bucks to get a good seat live and when that kind of fight happens, expect people to complain. When you’re being hyped as a wrecking machine, as a guy who finishes fights and as the number 1 pound for pound fighter in the world and you end up fighting like that, don’t expect people to react so nice.

Point number 2.. Greasegate 2.0?

Oh boy, if you think the fight was bad, wait til you see this gif.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/5992/vdzn2w.gif

If you can’t see the gif, it clearly shows Anderson Silva, wiping his face off, which is fully covered with Vaseline, puts his hands on his body and his back, puts his hands on his face again then puts his hands in his body again.

Now I don’t know about you, but man, that was illegal. And it was more obvious than Georges St.Pierre’s greasegate issue in the fight against Penn.

And unlike GSP’s issue, it wasn’t a trainer’s miscue. It was Anderson Silva himself, taking off some Vaseline in his face then rubbing it all over his body.

Now, I don’t expect this to be as huge as the first one cause I don’t think Leites will make it as big as what BJ Penn did but, as Dana White said.. you do not do that.

I’ll leave it to all of you fight fans to judge whether Silva should be punished for it or not.

Last thing.. is this the last time we’ll ever see the Iceman in the Octagon and is the “Pride” Shogun back for good?

Yes. I think so. I think it’s about time Chuck hangs it. Personally, if you ask I me.. I think he should hang it. He’s not getting younger. His style has already been figured out and fighters are just evolving as the years go by. We’ve seen him struggle against solid strikers and those are the types of fighters that are on the top of the light heavyweight food chain. We’ve seen him kiss the canvass in 3 of his last 5 fights and I’m afraid we’re going to see more of it if he decides to pursue fighting more.

Dana White already said it, Chuck is done. And Chuck, well, he doesn’t disagree at all. During the press conference, Chuck has given some hints that this might very well be his last fight.

Here’s a fun fact.. Chuck Liddell made his MMA debut 11 years ago at UFC 17. The event name? Redemption. 11 years and some 80 PPVs later, we could very well be seeing Chuck fight for one last in UFC 97: Redemption.

Enough with Chuck, let’s discuss his opponent, Mauricio Shogun Rua. After two horrible outings in the UFC, is Mauricio Rua back for good? Is the 2005 Pride 205 Grand Prix Champion back? Certainly, 1 round won’t answer all of our questions but there’s one thing I can assure you, the aura of Mauricio Shogun Rua way back when he was fighting in Japan, was definitely present at the UFC’s last PPV.

This should be a message to all the Light Heavyweights in the UFC.

OFFICIAL 2009 NBA PLAYOFFS PREDICTIONS!

What’s up guys? Yesterday marked the official ending of the 2009 season. Now off we go to the playoffs. Where legends are made, where amazing happens, where MJ’s shot over Ehlo happened, where Houston have never went past out of the first round happens, where most of the Duncan faces happens, where Kobe’s gonna win it all (OOPS) happens and where people losses money over stupid bets happens.

This is it, the ultimate proving ground of Champions. 16 teams, 14 teams go home early and 1 team wins it all. The NBA Playoffs.

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A Day in the Life of Lebron

It takes discipline and determination to become unstoppable. LeBron is the walking truth. Get a sneak peek into a day in his life.
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Three for Number Twenty-Three

This entry is a tad late, as Michael Jeffrey Jordan was inducted into the Hall of fame a couple of days ago. But it’s better late than never right?

Through his long illustrious career, we’ve seen the most outrageous, the most amazing things done by MJ. We’ve seen him hit game winners, we’ve seen him light up the score board, we’ve seen the most amazing dunks, passes and the best defensive plays done by the man. Which brings me to this question.. give me three Michael Jordan moments that will forever be played all over your head. Three moments that will be the headlines of your story once you sit in front of your grandkids 30 to 40 years from now. Here’s mine.

Number 3: “THE SHOT”

Where: Coliseum at Richfield - Cleveland Ohio

When: 1989 NBA Playoffs, Round 1.

The Scene: It was the fifth and final game of the series against Cleveland and the Cavs were up by 1 99-98 with three seconds to go.

Jordan Moment: Who would ever forget this announciating?

The inbounds pass comes in to Jordan. Here’s Michael at the foul line, the shot on Ehlo…good! The Bulls win! They win! They beat Cleveland Cavaliers!

We’ve all heard it, one way or another, we’ve seen and heard this magical moment. While I wasn’t even born during that time, it’s hard to grow up loving basketball and not watch the historic game between the Cavs and the Bulls in the first round of the 1989 NBA Playoffs. MJ scored 44 points, including this shot which is being looked at as one of the best game winners in basketball history.

Number 2: “Flu or no Flu”

Where: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah

When: 1997 NBA Finals

The Scene: The series was tied and it was the fifth game of the championship series between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls. Michael was reportedly diagnosed with stomach flu and reports say he was dehydrated bad coming into the ball game.

Jordan Moment: Michael played for 44 minutes, dropped 38 points (13/27 shooting) grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and had 3 steals leaving every Bulls and Jazz fans alike in awe as they saw a sick Michael Jordan dominate the game and lead the Bulls to a 3-2 lead.

“I’ve never seen Michael as sick as he was, to the point where I didn’t even think he was going to be able to put his uniform on, he effort he came out and showed us was incredible. He’s not only the greatest player ever, but the greatest leader ever.” - Scottie Pippen

Number 1: “The Last Charge as a Bull”

Where: Delta Center - Salt Lake City, Utah

When: 1998 NBA Finals

The Scene: The Bulls were ahead going into game 6, 3-2, but game 7 would also be played at the Delta Center

Jordan Moment: Michael scored 45 points in that game, had a clutch time defensive play on Karl malone then nailed the jumper on Bryon Russell with 5.2 seconds to go to give Chicago their 3rd straight, and 6th championship overall. This will forever be known as Michael Jordan’s last shot as a Chicago Bull and the end of the Chicago dynasty.

”He wouldn’t let us lose. If this is to be his last game, he left us all with a performance to remember. He’s the greatest player ever, and this proves it.” - Phil Jackson

So here’s to all of you hoops readers..

What is your favorite Michael Jordan moment?

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