Liverpool Versus AC Milan: A Dream Match Up For Europe's Top Soccer Price

Definitely it’s Europe’s answer to America’s Superbowl. This morning’s UEFA Champion’s League Final between England’s Liverpool and Italy side AC Milan is highly anticipated that with almost the whole world watching—-from Bangkok to Buenos Aires—-it could just become even bigger than the Superbowl and nearly the Olympics.

I was bookmarking this match in my mind for more than a week now but forgot entirely about it, my thought being filled with myriads of everyday concerns. Luckily for me, I tuned in to BBC this afternoon and got informed of the match in the best timing ever, as 40,000 Liverpool fans was seen trooping to Greece’s capital city Athens in bright red get-ups (the Liverpool color) and it was reported that a major problem was looming where all of those English fans can’t possibly enter the stadium where the game is to be played (probably tickets must have been sold out earlier in the week).

This situation had apparently caused massive ticket scalping where prices have allegedly gone up to as high as 3000 US Dollar per entrance. Now that’s superfluous. 150,000 Pesos for a ticket is certainly unheard of in this part of town. That just tells us how important this sporting event had become since its inception 52 years ago.

So I’ll be up until dawn tonight, errr, I mean this morning (it’s about 12:30 am as of this writing) and hope that the couple of mugs of coffee I had drink a while ago could effectively stave off sleepiness as far as possible.

If you’re wondering what team I am supporting, I must say that I must be rooting for Liverpool since I have been more inclined to watch England’s Premier League on cable television in recent days than the highly irregular Serie A of Italy or Primera Liga of Spain (irregular means sports channel carry them in a certain year but not every year).

Liverpool’s Stephen Gerrard is one of Europe’s hottest players nowadays and with Peter Crouch on the striking front, the men in red could just do a repeat of their 2005’s victorious campaign of Europe’s most coveted title, beating the same AC Milan after being down 3-0 at halftime. Although this time the law on averages could just catch up with Liverpool since they have already won this title a couple of years ago and so maybe now, it’s payback time for AC Milan. You know in sports, they always say that you can’t win all the time for the law on averages would soon catch up on you, and you can’t always have a good shooting night, for the averages would always be there to correct the statistics. Unless of course you are Michael Jordan; to whom the law on averages seems to be inapplicable—-especially during his superlative playing days for Chicago in the mid-90’s.

Gerrard and Crouch were main anchors in the English national team that got haplessly booted out by the surprising Portugal team in the quarterfinals of last year’s World Cup event; that this upcoming UEFA Champion’s Cup match feels like a dream World Cup encounter between England and Italy (the current Cup holder) since Gennaro Gattuso, the elemental factor in last year’s successful World Cup run for Italy, is also on the AC Milan side.

If I imagine perhaps a World Cup finals between Italy and England, which is a dream match-up for me, then this must be how it would feel like—-Liverpool versus AC Milan.

Roger Federer's Amazing Return Serves Him Well Once More

Aren’t we all glad that we live in a tennis era where Roger Federer is playing in his topmost form? I for one feels that way. Just like being able to witness the rise of Tiger Woods and his phenomenal run through majors after majors. Surely, I’ve asked myself how it would have felt to ever see a young Jack Nicklaus mopping every competition from the field, year after year more than half a decade ago and since we could not bring back time and since there still no cable television at that time; I just contented myself with merely wondering. But I am sure glad that Tiger Woods had made golf such an exciting sport to watch with a phenomenal gameplay that is both astonishing and magical.

So is with the extremely skillful Roger Federer who just won his fifth straight Wimbledon title hours ago, surpassing another legendary Swiss player Sweden’s legendary tennis player in Bjorn Borg who was watching at the stands in the All England Club. Federer had stated how it made him so emotional to have his idol and compatriot watching him play and if you ask me, that is just how feel-good movies feel like, only that this is for real. And we could not blame Roger (Can I call him Roger?) if he feels like he is living a fairy tale story, having a fairy godfather watching by the stands, witnessing every moment that success comes to him—-like this time, winning in the All England Club after a match that proved to be the toughest for him in years with Rafael Nadal showing how he could be a real threat to his phenomenal run.

Yet, it should not be Bjorn Borg’s record that Roger was priming at. I feel so much that it is Pete Sampras amazing 7 Wimbledon title that he is aiming at. He is aiming for the best and he looks like he is never gonna stop until he reaches the apex of tennis glory. To be the best among the best.

The way he that he had played at this latest Wimbledon finals, there’s more reason to anticipate how he could break Sampras’ record in the soonest time possible. If you ask me, there is just nothing like him out there and I do not see any other player that could match his prowess on the court—-except perhaps on clay where he becomes a lesser tennis player (like every grass specialists had been such as Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi). His returns are so prolific that I have never seen such kind of accuracy in a player before, as if he had robotic eyesight that could designate a point at the other end of the court and then exactly bring the ball towards that point, like a Tomahawk missile guided by a programmed computer; hitting the target with enormous accuracy. To me, that is his greatest weapon. And this is the reason why Andy Roddick could not be fast enough to catch a return placed so far from where he stands guard and that’s why Nadal’s serve had many times been broken by this amazing return that Roger has. The only player that could perhaps effectively counter these spot-accurate returns is Boris Becker, the one player who could dive and run on the court like an agile Puma—-but sadly, he had already retired and had grown older.

That way—-with no notable rival on sight—-Roger Federer would certainly continue his phenomenal run on grand slam titles and would break every record that there is to break. He is just terrific. American legendary tennis player John McEnroe had once described him as a player that is so above the rest, a player playing in another level entirely, one that shoos in a different tennis altogether—one that we’ve never seen before.

This seems somehow to be a scary thought—especially if one is an ATP-ranked player who have grand slam ambitions—-but I am enjoying it nonetheless. To Roger Federer—-I take my hat off for you and a thousand applause goes with that.

Is The Olympic Dream At Hand For Philippine Basketball?

Let’s talk sports. The 12-man Philippine basketball team is set to play at the FIBA Asia Men’s Championship tournament starting at 5:00 P.M this day, tousling with the much improved team from Iran. Thus, the so-called Philippine Olympic quest to send a basketball team to Beijing next year begins.

We have always known how China and South Korea had been lording basketball in the Asia region and generally, our team have played so laggardly against their tall and more agile players, losing by an average of 20 points. 20 points is huge in basketball and losing that much is often embarrassing.

But now, it is a little surprising to see a Philippine team that is not only so quick with their court movements but also can shoot from long-range as often as a winning team wants. Their performance in the recently-held William Jones Cup in Taipei had been surprising to say the least as they exhibited newly-found swiftness and accuracy from the field and defeating South Korea in the process, the very team that had caused a major heartbreak when we lose to them upon a late shot in the dying seconds in Busan Asian Games of 2002. Maybe, our quest of establishing a stronger presence in the basketball scene in Asia has improved by leaps and bounds.

Only there is an issue with the composition of this new Philippine basketball team as it is membered heavily by fil-am players like Danny Seigle, the very young Gabe Norwood, PBA Rookie of the Year Kelly Williams, Mike Pennisi and Asi Taulava. Read this very lively discussion in Boxing Scene. Ang tanong, dyahe ba na magpapadala tayo ng isang team na me halong fil-americans sa Tokushima?
In my mind, it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. If other Asian teams have a problem with a Philippine team with Filipino Americans on the roster, then they should have no business in trying to qualify for the Olympics or the world championship where real Americans such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan would be playing.

The only issue in my mind this time is the usual lack of height of the Philippine basketball players, despite the inclusion of meztisos from America, where in the game of basketball would still be might for a shorter player, even if he can shoot at will, won’t hit even the net with a hulking opponent putting up a huge umbrella-like defense in front of him.

But the Olympics would always be there or the world championships. If not now, there’d be always a next time and with a quicker team and more fluid offense, hope would always be high.

Iraq Is King In Asian Football

Though it may be true half of the time, “sports unite nations” is mostly a cliché that had been utilized to the hilt through the years; at times just to add theme to a sporting event and then nothing more, like school graduation ceremonies, they always have to have a theme etched in cardboards with close parenthesis and pasted on stage foregrounds.

But this time, sports can actually unite a nation, even for just a moment. When the Iraqi national football (soccer) team clinched the Asian Cup last night, Shiites in southern Iraq went to the streets to celebrate the win by a team composed mainly by Arab sunnis and a lone Kurdish player. And all over Iraq, it was observed that general violence were absent for nearly a day. Now that’s sports not only for unity, but also for peace in a place where peace is but a strange idea.

World Cup Of Boxing Might Usher New Era In Boxing

Festi-val Fes”ti-val, n. A time of feasting or celebration; an anniversary day of joy, civil or religious.

Slugfest S-lug-fest, n. a lot of boxing—may mean bloodshed.

It is definitely a slugfest—-this boxing event that would come to local television this morning care of ABS-CBN. The World Cup of Boxing featuring six Filipino boxers pitted against six Mexican boxers could prove to be as rambunctious as a karaoke bar melee and could possibly be as vicious. This boxing event is a first of some sort for we’ve never heard about any world cup competition in professional boxing, pitting a nation against one. This might be history in the making for certain and it is unprecedented to be sure. In yesterday’s weigh-in, Filipino and Mexican supporters came in droves with placards and banners. The atmosphere was so vibrant that you thought Brazil was going up against Germany in a soccer world cup competition.

Despite that in actuality this World Cup of Boxing is basically a title fight between nimble Filipino Upstart Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista against Mexican champ and stalwart Daniel Ponce De Leon, it is wholly novelty as a sports event.

On the one hand, the decision to make this a Philippine against Mexico boxing competition (instead of Bautista versus Ponce De Leon title match) may understate its title fight importance for certainly, we’ve never heard of any world cup in boxing; unlike in football or tennis. It feels half the time like a WWF wrestling special event where fights are phony and often ridiculous. This made me wish that the organizers have toned down the “world cup” angle and focused on Bautista’s most difficult challenge to date, in light of his stature as a possible mainman and national hero like Manny Pacquiao.

This should be a Bautista-Ponce De Leon title match basically and a sprinkling of undercards that happens to all involved Filipinos and Mexicans in either side.

Be it as it may seem—-the organizers of this eponymous World Cup of Boxing are perhaps intrigued by the idea of creating another interesting idea about professional boxing, about finding our what country is the best in the sports of boxing today. This particular time, it is whether Philippines can be a better boxing nation than Mexico. Perhaps USA and Cuba would jump in and join the fray later on and decide to be called as the best boxing nation of all. Thailand would surely be thinking of this if Philippines or Mexico boasts of boxing supremacy when the dusts are cleared after this World Cup of Boxing event in Sacramento, California. The fact that this event is being held in Sacramento poses some credence to this one-of-a-kind competition plus the $500,000 grand prize that goes for the team winner—-plus the “cup” of course. And the whole world might be watching with extreme eagerness.

Could this spur a new era and form of competition in boxing? It is too early to tell. Would the Philippines come up with more wins out of the six matches? I do hope so.

Phenomenon

Tiger Woods Won Another Major—-How many times have I heard this phrase before on CNN or read about it on Yahoo News! —-I could merely count the ways.

Winning the 89th US PGA Tour Championship is simply phenomenal for him and this would inch him closer to the record held by Jack Nicklaus who had garnered 18 major golfing titles in nearly half a decade of playing professional golf. At age 31, Woods now has 13 major titles tucked under his belt and is fastest among any other player (alive or deceased) in raking in majors and if he continue at this rate, he’d overcome the all-time record in no time at all. He merely needs 5 more major tournament wins and there are four of such each year. At one time he won all four in succession, one after another, and I have a feeling he could do that once again easily in the coming months.

To date, Tiger Woods has more major titles than all top ten golfers in the world combined. In winning this one, he had a tremendously exceptional 9-under par performance on the third round and he is the first player in seven tries to ever make par at the very difficult 18th hole of Southern Hills on the final day. This year, he won five tournaments when no other player had won twice or more.

Just when I thought he was slowing down, Tiger Woods came roaring back with this US PGA Championship win and this only shows how he is a phenomenon through and through.

Super Sports Sunday

Today is October 7, 2007, a day with two sevens on it. While the number “7” is mostly associated with luck (as in Lucky 7), this date is not about luck or being fortunate, it is about being “super” as in “super sports Sunday” as Manny Pacquiao would once again battle Mexican living legend Marco Antonio Barrera in a grueling 12-round fight. Manny Pacquiao appears to be the strong favorite not only here in his own country but also even in Las Vegas and that’s understandable. The 5-year difference in their ages would for certain show and be telling in this fight. It had in fact showed when they first boxed in Texas and the older Barrera just couldn’t take the Pacquiao rock solid punches into the body and head. Maybe he was just unprepared at that time to face a virtually wet-in-the-ears young boxer that Manny was then. And maybe Barrera comes into the ring this time more prepared than before. And maybe, a miracle would happen in Las Vegas today.

But in general, this fight is over. Manny is just too strong a puncher for an old horse like Barrera.

Yet, if some rumors or street talk holds true—-one that is circulating somehow in this city—-Manny Pacquiao would opt to throw away this fight and lose it so that a more exciting rematch would ensue months from now, ala Pacquiao-Morales III. That way, more money would come in for both Pacquiao’s and Barrera’s already bulging pocket. And that means, professional boxing has just descended into the level of pro wrestling where everything is but a farce. I hope Manny Pacquiao would not stooped down to such level despite the fact that he had already made a fool of himself by running for a congressional seat some months ago.

On to the second spectacular sporting event that’ll make this day a Super Sports Sunday—- At about 3:00 this afternoon, the UE Red Warriors would try to snatch the second game of the UAAP best-of-three championship and keep it’s hope alive for a first-ever championship since Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera led UE to it’s last UAAP crown in 1985.

La Salle is of course would not be taking matters lightly and would go for the title juggernaut this afternoon and make the warriors cry once more. Last year, UST had won a nail-biter of a game over the Red Warriors and had them eliminated from the title hunt.

A cousin of mine is playing for UE and although Fhadz Bandaying does not have much playing time for the Warriors, he still remains a very important member of this amazing UE team, which went on sweeping all its elimination games this year, as he gives quality time off the bench.

When I was able to talk to Fhadz last year, I kinda told him that the UST lost last year was a good learning experience for them and that this year would be a better year for them. And indeed, this year is not only better but also in fact very outstanding with that elimination sweep. Even if they lost to La Salle today, it would still be a far better year than last year for them.
But I hope cousin Fhadz and his Red Warriors teammates would win this game today and win it all in Game 3. Nothing like a championship title.

Del Potro Becomes Federer Tamer

This is so big news in the sports world, where the up and coming Argentinean tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro finally tames the unbeatable Roger Federer. (Not that Roger is so absolutely unbeatable, he loses sometimes).

Nobody expected Federer to lose, not in this fashion, in New York, in the most patronized Grand Slam of all, the US Open and to a very young player in Del Potro.

At a very young age of 21, Del Potro showed the guile and dexterity of a true champion, the one that Andy Roddick failed to develop fully and Rafael Nadal just fell short.

I always thought that the one that could beat or at least matched Federer’s extraordinary tennis prowess is someone who moves like a cat on the floor, or a cunning jaguar to be exact, not heavy like Andy Roddick or static like Rafael Nadal—- someone who has the unique abilities of Boris Becker and Andre Agassi—- both combined.

And that maybe, Juan Martin Del Potro is that person who can beat Federer now that he overcomes Federer on the most intense Grand Slam series of all.

For a long time, Roger just demolishes the field and finds no worthy rival, somehow turning ATP tennis into some kind of doldrums., full of tournaments where Roger was hands down winner even before the first serve is made. Now perhaps, Del Potro can make ATP tennis much interesting once again.

Entering Top 10 ATP ranking only last year, Del Potro was seen by many to be having great potential as a Grand Slam winner, and this time, he proves this prediction true, in the most dramatic fashion, winning it over the already-legendary Roger Federer.

So this Del Potro win must have turned the entire sports world all abuzz. When the finals for this year’s U.S. Open was announced – right about the time Nadal lost in straight sets to Del Potro – I immediately felt that since Nadal or Roddick is out of the way (Nadal suspected to be nursing some slight injury), the finals was certainly to become a mere ceremonial walk for Federer. He was that awesome and menacing.

But the surprise of all surprise happened, Federer falls down and Del Potro wins his first Grand Slam.

And mind you, the championship match was the best tennis match I’ve seen in a very long time, ever since Pete Sampras had retired would you believe?

I was actually watching the live coverage of the championship match so early in the morning but fell asleep when the fifth and final set was about to start.

The crowd roared when Federer had hit those ‘fascinatingly exact’ return volleys. But I could hear more applause every time Del Potro makes some smart points. Could there be lots of Argentineans in the Artrhur Ashe Stadium during the match? Maybe not.

I felt that the audience wants something unusual to happen, something that is atypical; so perhaps they had rooted for a Federer lost and a Del Potro wins.

But maybe Federer was just tired of winning (coming of a great and historic run in Wimbledon last month) and that Del Potro was just one very lucky tennis player today.

The drama unfolds now and it remains to be seen if a new and interesting rivalry is born.