Time to walk away, Manny

If you noticed the time gap between my last post and this one it's no coincidence. I have been in a long hiatus from blogging but this is something I cannot just dismiss to write down. In a just recently typhoon hit/destructed Philippines, Filipinos like me are looking for some inspiration to draw from. So it was very timely that a Manny Pacquiao bout was on.

I am not a die hard Pacquiao fan, I'd like to think I am unbiased. I felt Marquez won the last fight even the second fight but the judges saw differently, not Manny's fault, so I knew defeat is a high possibility given how they fought previously. It's as if JuanMa was Pac's ring equal. Preparation, execution, talent they are very equal in many ways and they knew each other very well.

So came into the fight, first and second round was evenly fought although I had Manny winning in both 20-18. I said to myself it's going to be the same. Come third round Manny was caught/blindsided by a whopping punch from Marquez. From that round I came to know something different is going to happen the possiblity of a Pacquiao loss is inevitable. and so I thought.

Come the fifth round. Boom! Manny catches Marquez with a short left hook that rattled his knees, his gloves touching the canvas.Wow I said first knockdown by Pacquiao since Shane Mosley there could be a comeback of sorts. I was watching at home via pay-per-view, with a delirious household, friends and neighbors alike. In my native Philippines this is a natural thing friends gather to cheer Manny on and to their delight Manny didn't disappoint after downing Marquez, Pacquiao went on a flurry of punches catching Marquez, the most I've seen him caught by a Pacquiao flurry. I said to myself, well Mr. Pacquiao could very well still win it after all. But it was just me.

6th round, Pac was fantastic following up from the fifth Marquez nose and maybe the lips were bursting with blood. I thought this could be trouble for 'El Dinamita' since too much blood could cost him the fight via TKO. And Manny was relentless the mass that once shouted 'Marquez, Marquez' was now getting drowned by the all too familiar 'Pacquiao, Pacquiao' chants. Then the inevitable happened.

Manny pursuing Marquez to his corner got caught by a very vicious right hook by Marquez. At first there was confusion in the house what happened? Pacquiao just laid there wasted. I knew it was the end. The replay would basically show the grotesque punch that Marquez threw. And as the camera roll slowly the pain that registered through Manny's face stunned everybody in the house. For me, it was reminiscent of when Manny did it to Hatton. Visceral, stone cold knocking him out. This time it happened to himself. Karma is really a bad thing to mess with. What goes around comes around.

In that same time something tells me, Man you've had enough walk away. You know Manny has achieved so much, earned so much, beaten the best opponents available for him (well except for that Mayweather guy) there is clearly no more sense to continue. After two straight losses, one via an earth shattering knock out it's time for him to think about his health and his family. The guy is a great guy and you want him to live as great as he can be. Sans the yes men or end up fighting too long like Muhammad Ali did, or more recently Roy Jones Jr. Sure money in the ring is lucrative and the gamblers and high rollers would still be around honking at Pacquiao's door. But hey, Manny's well off now, he don't need the money as a celebrity and politician in the Philippines he can still sustain his star. He's a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, the 8 division championships almost guarantee that.

This is just for me as a supporter, heed you mother's request and retire. It's time to walk away Manny before it's too late.

Don't rub it in

In what could be a preview of the next Eastern Conference finals, the Bulls fell short. Derrick Rose fell short. Inexplicably shooting well from the Freethrow line the reigning MVP choked on 2 shots that could have gotten Chicago the lead and put some pressure on the Heat to counter. Instead the ball bounced out of the rim two times.

Funnier still LeBron did the same trick on the next incident. Trying to finish off the Bulls James stepped off the 15 ft. line and bricked.

“I couldn’t believe he missed both,” Wade said of Rose. “I couldn’t believe LeBron missed both, either. Averaged itself out, I guess.”

After LeBron's 2nd miss there was a scramble. Confusion rushed in when an inadvertent whistle was heard. Officials of the game ruled it jump ball. James—who talked Bosh out of taking the tap himself—outleaped Taj Gibson, gave the ball up to Mario Chalmers, who was fouled and eventually got a free throw in for a two-point lead. Bulls finally had possession.

9.9 seconds left, an eternity in basketball, Bulls had a great idea of putting the ball in Rose's hand, Derrick cut the defense and a crucial moment decided to shoot the ball against 2 defenders and it bricked. The shot was a floater that Rose has been making throughout the game. It was a bad break.

“This is so surreal right now knowing that I had a chance to win the game,” an emotional Rose said at his locker afterward. “And this time it didn’t work out.”

The Bulls trailed the whole game, Rose played significant big minutes in the absence of his chief reliever CJ Watson. Luol didn't play also nursing his own wrist injury.

Bulls lost, tough game with bad breaks (for the Bulls side), but this soon to be rivalry will carry on for years and it will be fun watching. So Heat fans, don't rub it in you maybe be better today but the Bulls will definitely comeback.

Sources (quotes): Yahoo! sports
Picture: Available in web. No copyright infringement intended.

Purrr-fect (Puss in Boots review)

Howdy!

It's been months since I did my last piece. Has it been a year? (I'm quite sure I'm not that lazy hehe).

Just wanted to post something on this Pussy of a movie. My rating? Perfect. (I've learned to perfectly enjoy a movie is to enjoy it first, criticize later after a few more views :D)

Well being an visual artist myself, it was a treat seeing this 3D generation age compared to yesteryears' cartoon movies of 2D animation. Although yesteryears' movies had it's originality story wise, I think visually this edition is a different monster throughout.

Puss in Boots is originally french (thus you see Puss in musketeer clothing) in origin but Dreamwork's version of the story totally differs from it's forerunner. Maybe because in the original we can never see Humpty Dumpty, Kitty Softpaws and others in the original? Yes maybe but really it's a different story just to make a BIG point.

Cast was amazing the talents who lent their voices were splendid, almost au naturel.

Jack and Jill portrayal was hilarious, (Spoiler Alert!) as hulking couple instead of kids. Although you can guess the flow of the story (as it has always been in the same format be it fairy tale or real men movies) the real spectacle is the fabulous retelling of an almost ancient story and it's visuals.

Kudos to the producer, Director, artists and cast. Would recommend it for general viewing public entertainment. 1 1/2 hours well spent! Cheers!

The Flourishing of the Rose

Derrick Rose is my MVP.

And it's not only because I'm a Bulls fan, it's because he proves it every time he plays. Three years ago with the draft at hand I wasn't especially keen on Rose for Chicago. At that time, Kirk was still the prime point guard for me because not only can he handle the ball well he defends well.

In my mind Chicago needs a good post threat to become an elite team. With the choice zeroing on two players I believed the hype that surrounded Michael Beasley (Ok, so I'm not an expert after all), a post scorer and a good mid-range shooter. For me he was Chicago's salvation. The scorer that Chicago covet since Elton Brand was (stupidly) traded for Tyson Chandler.

So to my utter disappointment (at the time) when David Stern announced Rose as the number 1 pick of the 2008 Draft. I thought the team wasted their chance on having a solid player, and to support me Rose wasn't the most solid PG on his rookie year. He was explosive yet his shooting wasn't there heck it's almost like Rondo's He wasn't the Deron Williams or Chris Paul type of PG I imagined for my favorite team to have. One thing I admired though is how he persevered and relentlessly attacked the basket. opening doors for the other Bull's to score. A will power comparable to Michael Jordan.

Rose made a believer out of me in their play-off series against Boston. Rose debuted in the play-offs with 36 points (tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record for points scored by a rookie in his playoff debut set 1970), 11 assists, and 4 rebounds as the Bulls prevailed in a 105–103 overtime win on the road. It was noticeable during that series how limited the Bulls were against the big names of the Celtics, The Allens and the Pierces, even through that Chicago stayed in their series and had the Celtics gasping in 7 games (Don't give the Garnett was injured BS because Deng was also injured and was higher value for the Bulls than the Celtics who would give the Magic a run for their money in the next series even without Garnett). Rose averaged 19.7 points on 47.5% shooting, 6.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in the, although the Bulls were defeated by the Celtics in 7 games. Amazing in the sense that a rookie was able to carry that much burden especially at age 20. Wow!

After his Rookie of the Year season, Rose would improve in his stats in his 2nd year. He'd get 20.8 PPG on 48.9% shooting, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG although the clamor for improvement in defense and shooting was still there, it was clearer now that Rose was the team's best player, he'd also be the first Chicago all-star since Michael Jordan in 1998. In the playoffs Rose averaged 26.8 points and 7.2 assists, but the Bulls still lost in five games to the Cleveland Cavaliers.


This year he even took his game to new heights improving his defense and mid and long range shooting. To note Chicago only played full strength for only 9 games, and by that I meant the whole team playing because obviously Boozer was still recovering after missing the first 15 games and by that time Noah has already sustained his own injury that have sidelined him for 28 games now (and counting). Rose rises to the occasion by bringing a different approach to his game; Being the main threat and still distribute. It is amazing to note that despite getting 24.7 points, Derrick dishes out 8.1 dimes a night, the amount of energy you have to exert just to get those numbers to limited outlets (since either Boozer or Noah is out).

The candidates for MVP can be narrowed down to Rose and James. Kobe's Lakers are packed yet they're underachieving. Stoudamire has slowed on his candidacy due to the Knicks on and off record. Wade is playing second fiddle to James. Durant gets plenty of help from fellow all-star Russell Westbrook.

Rose may not get the same numbers as LeBron but he is MVP because he carries more baggage. And to note for comparison Miami has yet to defeat the Celtics and the Mavs, 2 teams Chicago have dispelled to many's disbelief. In in no small part thanks to Rose's play.


This past 2 games against the best point guards the league can offer Rose critics were high in praise for Rose for shutting both Chris Paul and Deron Williams to a minimum. Combined the 2 premiere PGs averaged 13 points, 9 assists, 3 rebs, 0.5 stl to Rose's 26 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 rebs, and 1 stl. Staggering numbers to say the least against the best. And at 22, he can only get better.


Scary.

The Long and Winding Road ends for Jerry Sloan

It was June 1997. Utah was out to challenge Chicago for NBA supremacy, The Jazz team were newbies up against the veteran championship fixture. Michael was the predator, and in these games he relishes the moment to proclaim his greatness anew.

It's no wonder that with the game on the line Utah's best player choked; With Scottie Pippen psyching Malone out, telling him "Just remember, the mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays, Karl," while Malone was at the free throw line. He missed both free throws and the Bulls rebounded and quickly called a time-out. With the game on the line, Chicago put the ball into the hands of Michael Jordan. M.J. dribbled out most of the waning seconds and then launched a 20 footer that swished in at the buzzer, as the Chicago Bulls took the first game of the 1997 NBA Finals. And it happened 3 more times during the course of the six-game series, one of them was the infamous "flu" game in Game 5. Utah lost.

Failure.

And it was that first finals game that served as omen that will prevail until the next year when Utah would again meet Chicago in the Finals. Utah this time had the homecourt advantage. They won game 1 lost the 2nd, will lose badly in game 3 (by a total of 42 points), lost another in game 4 then steal game 5, Back in Utah with the game on the line Jordan again rose to the occasion and shoot a lasting shot; the Chicago farewell; the Utah dagger. It'll be both teams last finals apperance (so far) one of the best in finals history even the most controversial (as fans still dispute whether Jordan should have been called of a pushing foul or is it a let go play? It was clear to everyone though that Utah lost again to Chicago.

History might have been joking all this while between this 2 clubs because in the middle of the basketball coliseum was Jerry Sloan, the "Original Bull", Chicago's first player selection in the 1966 expansion draft. As a player Sloan was known for his tenacity on defense, and led the expansion team to the playoffs in its first season.

He also became a 2-time All-star, was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team four times and the All-Defensive Second team twice. He also led the Bulls to the playoffs on various occasions and helped them to win one division title, the only one the franchise has earned outside the Michael Jordan era. Sloan averaged 9.1 rebounds per game in his second season, and his career rebounding average of 7.4 rebounds per game is unusually high for a guard. With an average of 2.15 steals per game (tabulated over his last three seasons), Sloan is ranked tenth in the NBA's all-time leaders category for steals per game, just behind John Stockton (2.17 SPG). His playing career was was cut short though by nagging knee injuries that kept him in the sideline.

Jerry's coaching career will also start in Chicago, succeeding Scotty Robertson at the helm. His initial coaching attempt in Chicago wasn't so successful as planned though compiling a record of 94-121 and was out of the Bulls sideline by the 3rd season (which he didn't finish).

As it turns out Jerry's success as coach wasn't meant for Chicago but for another club, the Utah Jazz where he would compile 1130 wins against 682 losses. Jerry went to the Hall of Fame as the only coach to compile 1000 wins in the NBA under the same club. Sloan was a passionate, defense-oriented, blue collar coach. There isn't a coach in all of sports who rips his team to shreds the way Sloan does when he feels his team hasn't competed. The Sloan method means anything less than full effort is unacceptable. It means no excuse is satisfactory. One memorable quote of Sloan's coaching can be summarized with this: " "Size doesn't make any difference; heart is what makes a difference," Sloan began "These guys over there want to make the playoffs more than we do."


He is a teacher that wanted results, results that comes from hard work. Let it be reminded everyone that coach Sloan's coaching structure was the same structure that captivated Gregg Popovich's own coaching regimen. It's amazing to note that even without Karl and John to lead his team Jerry Sloan would coach his team to a 42-40 record, barely missing play-offs and the coach of the year award (which he never won) behind Hubie Brown of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sloan's abrupt departure also seemed to be in defiance to the new breed of players' consistent whining and disregard for authority in the locker room. It was reported that he and point guard Deron Williams had a huge verbal fight prior to the coach's resignation. Some even said the 2 almost came to blows during the huddle. We may never know the truth to that because coach Sloan downplayed the reports: "I've had confrontations with players since I've been in the league," Sloan said. "There's only so much energy left and my energy has dropped." KSL-TV later asked Sloan whether reported conflicts with guard Deron Williams forced him to leave. "I forced myself out," Sloan responded.

I can understand kids who would dismiss the resignation as one of the other hundred resignations filed by other coaches. But for me it was as significant as when Magic announced his retirement, when Michael Jordan shocked the world during his first retirement. Here is a legend going out abruptly and will be dearly missed by true long-time fans of basketball.

So to note, Jerry Sloan stepped down after losing against the Chicago Bulls. Life can be cruelly funny sometimes.

References :
http://www.basketball-reference.com/
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=Sloan-081209
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-sloanretiring021011
photo's found in the web no copyright infringement intended.