Sky’s the limit for PCAP
LAST Saturday, the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) opened its second season with the first matches…
GM Barbosa named first-ever PCAP MVP
GRANDMASTER (GM) Oliver Barbosa was named the first-ever Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the first season of the…
Striegl versus Skelly in UFC Fight Night 202
FILIPINO-AMERIAN mixed martial artist (MMA) Mark Striegl returns to the Octagon on February 20 at the UFC Apex…
No-Vacc Djoke
LET me preface everything by saying I am a fan of Novak Djokovic. When Pete Sampras wrote the…
PGA Tour 2022 to be shown live locally
THE Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour announced that its live events for 2022 will be televised locally on Premier…
A serious Bull run
I HAVEN’T been this excited since the 2010-11 National Basketball Association (NBA) season when a 22-year-old Derrick Rose…
187 players join pro chess body’s upcoming draft
THE second season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) will be an even bigger one…
The Brewskies 2021
WELCOME to the 15th annual Brewskies where at the end of every calendar year, we hand out award…
A drama of two football matches
I WAS treated to two football matches played three days apart across two continents that was filled with…
Still a good win
THE Philippines ended its 2021 Suzuki Cup run with a nail-biting 3-2 win over Myanmar. The Azkals finished…
That Azkals’ victory against Timor Leste
THE men’s national team seized control of their destiny in the 2021 Suzuki Cup following a 7-0 thrashing…
Suzuki Cup: PHL-SG
ELEVEN years ago, then-Singapore head coach Raddy Avramovic was asked his thoughts of his team’s first assignment of…
Azkals aim high in Suzuki Cup in Singapore
SINGAPORE—Some say the Philippine men’s football team could possibly vie for a semifinals slot in the 2021 Asean…
Food for thought for PCAP
SO the maiden season of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) is done. All wrapped up…
Aftermath of Gerrard’s departure from Rangers
WHEN Steven Gerrard left Rangers in the Scottish Premier League (SPL) a few months into the season for…
Glad for AEW
OVER a belated birthday lunch just this past Sunday, my younger brother, my two sons and I were…
Dirty Dancing
The Last Dance, the actual season ended 21 years ago. The 10-part documentary? Just a little over a…
UFC all-access available in PHL via TAP GO
SATISFYING the cravings of the inner combat sports fan in you with Tap Go’s UFC All-Access. Not only…
The audacity of Chot Reyes
THE TNT Tropang Giga defeated Magnolia, 4-1, in the Philippine Cup Finals that ended over three years of…
PHL Paralympics team takes down Indios Bravos side
MAYBE now, the rest of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) will sit up and take…
Giving back through books
WHILE browsing in one of my favorite bookstores in New York City—The Strand in Union Square—there was the…
On tap with Renen de Guia
THIS past Sunday morning, I was glued not only to UFC Fight Night 194 but also WTA 1000…
Predators-Knights duel highlights PCAP’s third conference 2nd-round action
THE San Juan Predators lock horns with the Iloilo Kisela Knights for the first time since the finals…
Watching the B.League
I IMMENSELY enjoyed myself watching the B.League debut of Kiefer Ravena with the Shiga Lakestars versus his brother,…
Ravena vs Ravena as B.League unfurls Saturday on Tap Go
FOR the first time, the two storied brothers, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, will play against each other in…
Awakening in New Jersey
I READ with great interest New York Times writer Jon Mooallem’s piece, “I Had a Chance to Travel…
Up, down, Norwich we go
THERE’S this old English nursery rhyme that goes, “The Man in the Moon came tumbling down, and asked…
Mariano named Wesley So Cup Finals MVP
NATIONAL Master Cesar Mariano was named the Jessie Villasin Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the recently concluded…
Franco’s Journey
DO you think that our lives are pre-ordained? Maybe. Maybe not. But sometimes, life places stepping stones on…
Versus Hamilton
DON’T you just love the rivalry between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen? By the time…
The anti-Messi
I WONDER if Cristiano Ronaldo is the anti-Messi. Just when Lionel Messi is in the news or is…
An Afghan tragedy
THERE have been calls—among many others—to spring free the members of Afghanistan’s national women’s football team before the…
Inequitable decision
WATCHING Untold: Malice at the Palace on Netflix, it brought me back to one of the most infamous…
Can France find next gen talent?
AS France’s men’s basketball team bowed to the United States in the gold medal match of the Tokyo…
Filipino indie artist Eyedress releases new album, ‘Mulholland Drive’
Filipino indie artist Eyedress (aka Idris Vicuna) has announced his new album, ‘Mulholland Drive’, due out August 27th via Lex…
Twisting deep
WHEN I saw reports about Simone Biles pulling out of gymnastics team competition for the United States of…
Tough road for US
Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker will all be playing when the United States looks to defend…
Waking up in these Covid games
There is this man in a photo taken by Yuichi Yamazaki of a Japanese man carrying a placard…
Higher pay, ground Beneath their Feet
READING about the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) plan to increase the contracts of rookies… am not sure if…
Is football coming home?
AFTER Harry Kane scored England’s third goal against Ukraine, four things popped into my mind. The first was,…
Litany of sorrowful miseries
I’D like to say, “well, there’s always next year” but I don’t think I can. Yes, the New…
Camarines rises, Cordova falters in Wesley So Cup
GIVEN a gift horse in the mouth when the Camarines Soaring Eagles lost both matches last Saturday, the…
Missed communication
OFTEN in sports, we hear the words “mentally tough” thrown in more so when the competition is intense.…
The magic of books
I LOVE the smell of newly pressed books. Like a new-born baby, I slide my fingers on the…
A whole lotta questions
WHAT is all this secrecy? Why can’t people be more forthright and honest instead of not saying anything?…
Crossroads reflections by a soccer player
IF there is anything this ongoing pandemic has taught people is at any moment, your life can be…
Antipolo sends Laguna reeling in ‘Wesley’ Cup
THE Antipolo Cobras passed a test despite splitting their double header on Wednesday night in the virtual Professional…
Cordova still unbeaten in Wesley So Cup
THE Cordova Dagami Warriors caught the last bus to the playoffs of the All-Filipino Conference of the Professional…
Cebuano squads score near sweep
THREE of four Cebu-based teams of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines scored contrasting opening day victories…
Déjà vu in opener
IT must have been close to déjà vu for the Iloilo Kisela Knights. Up against the Palawan Queen’s…
Malaysian IM loads up with Caloocan PCAP side
THE Caloocan LoadManna Knights loaded up for the upcoming Wesley So Cup of the Professional Chess Association of…
Hamilton’s 100
I REMEMBER when Roger Federer surpassed Pete Sampras in terms of Grand Slam wins. I wasn’t in total…
Over ramen
THE Yasai Ramen was begging for me to sink my chopsticks and spoon into its finely arrayed vegetables.…
Tugging at Superman’s cape
SOMEONE is tugging at Superman’s cape and he isn’t going away. I love the way Max Verstappen has…
Missing the point
THE events that transpired at the VisMin Cup bubble last April 14 leave more questions than answers. As…
Is there anything to learn from sports bubbles?
THE enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has pushed back a lot of things from business to work to even…
New heroes for PHL sports
ON the eve of the 450th anniversary of the founding of the province of Laguna (July 28, 1571),…
Is there anything to learn from sports bubbles?
THE enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has pushed back a lot of things from business to work to even…
New heroes for PHL sports
ON the eve of the 450th anniversary of the founding of the province of Laguna (July 28, 1571),…
Monster bash in NBA
THE Brooklyn Nets have been accused of buying a championship with their already star-studded roster receiving more reinforcement…
Glued to my tube
IT’S good to see Season 3 of Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix. If I was a…
One year later
TODAY, March 15, 2021, is the first year anniversary of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus that…
So, citizenship blues
I LOOK at this whole episode of many being upset with Super Grandmaster Wesley So’s accepting American citizenship…
Never shut up
You have seen football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and basketball star LeBron James exchange—and that is putting it mildly—words…
How do you take losing?
AS a youngster who played football and other sports…not well. That is actually an understatement. I fumed and…
Deciphering Liverpool
AFTER its crushing 3-1 loss to Leicester City that only served to reinforce that Liverpool’s title reign as…
CATCHY DEBUT | Cinema Lumiere’s first EP is from several international indie labels
This is music that you must listen to in this time of pandemic. It’s wistful boy-girl harmonies set…
Time to talk
THE United Kingdom, reeling from Brexit and the new Covid-19 strain, organized Time to Talk 2021 last February…
MONSTER GROOVE | Butch Vig on Jamir Garcia’s final song with Project E.A.R.
“It has a monster groove.” That is how noted American producer and drummer Butch Vig described the song…
A week of racism, violence
I KNOW violence and racism in sports is nothing new. I detest both, but even in this time…
Soundtracks, sports memories
THIS past Sunday morning, the first record I spun was an old one I had—Chuck Mangione’s “Fun and…
Cycling in this pandemic
THE days of a tight lockdown might be behind us—more so with a vaccine on the horizon—people have…
#NonoyStrong
AFTER a long bout with cancer, former Ateneo and national team captain, and Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player…
2020 Brewskies Awards
EVERY year end since 2006, I have handed out my own personal column awards called, The Brewskies. Sort…
Barbie Almalbis-Honasan pens song for Aspins
Singer-songwriter Barbie Almalbis-Honasan has just released a new single on all streaming platforms titled, “An Aspin’s Song.” The…
‘Teach Your Children’
WHEN I first heard “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in 1980, years after it…
Urban Bandits’ Pinoy punk classic, ‘Independence Day’ turns 35
Mga kapitbahay! The punk rock classic album Independence Day from the Urban Bandits that dropped like a dirty…
Addio Paolo Rossi.
IN the space of three weeks, Italy, already hit hard by the Covid-19 virus, was rocked. The first…
Rigodon atop football tables
I AM massively enjoying this Premier League 20-21 season. Every weekend, we see the top of the table…
Bubble experience
BEFORE the National Basketball Association (NBA) Bubble, when the latter word came to mind, I thought of that…
Following Maradona
There’s a reason why I root for Boca Juniors and Napoli. My friends know I am a massive…
A matter of survival
WITH professional sports now being played, or are in the process of getting off the ground—Premier Volleyball League…
A flood of memories
A CROWD of people stood in front of the waters. They stood in an almost parochial silence. The…
Crossing the Delaware
AS American president-elect Joe Biden gave his historic speech in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, this past Sunday…
PFF taps futsal legend Dutchman Hermans
LEGENDARY Dutch national futsal team player and multi-titled coach Victor Hermans has agreed to help develop the Philippine…
Football stays on, for now
Great Britain is headed towards another lockdown after a new surge of Covid-19 infections. While I understand trying…
Leeds could steal show
WITH Manchester City fading, Manchester United dropping close to the relegation zone, and Liverpool looking vulnerable, the stage…
SYNTH POP REDUX | One Click Straight’s fine ‘backtrack’ mess
One Click Straight’s debut EP under Island Records Philippines, “Sumaya. Sumigaw. Huminga.” Is a nod to the synth…
Philippine futsal making waves
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may have put a stop to many things, but Philippine futsal like its older…
Podcasting
I AM currently doing three podcasts—Cold Brew which is my anything goes podcast about music, sports, lifestyle and…
Fifteen strong
BusinessMirror celebrated its 15th year of publication last October 8 and I am proud to be associated with…
For teachers
MOST people know me as a sportswriter and a sports analyst. Some even know that I once held…
A dream that is 10ACT
THE swell folks at 10ACT (pronounced as “tenacity” Sports recently donated face masks to Covid-19 frontliners at the…
Do you need to say it, LeBron?
MILWAUKEE Bucks ace Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Most Valuable Player for the second…
The gutting of the Tigers
THE gutting of University of Santo Tomas’s (UST) men’s basketball team is nearly complete. Word is Mark Nonoy…
Missed chances in this UST fiasco
WE never seem to learn do we? The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Sorsogon Bubble while directly the…
‘Cobra Kai’
I AM having a blast watching Cobra Kai, the Web series sequel to the successful Karate Kid films…
Facing this pandemic
I WAS going to write about the upcoming UEFA Champions League Finals between two of the richest clubs…
College hoops blue chippers
I WAS invited last Saturday evening on Benny Benitez’s show Bull by the Horn where we discussed college…
A time to help
AN out of work basketball referee from Cagayan de Oro reached out to me on my messenger asking…