SLAM PH 151 is in bookstores now! Dirk Nowitzki is on the cover. Inside: Read a mad recap of the NBA Finals, stories on Jason Kidd, Deron Williams, Dennis Rodman, Monta Ellis and Gordon Hayward. Check out the Best In-Game Photos from the 2010-2011 NBA Season. And so much more...
PLUS enjoy our exclusive SLAM PH content -- The Right to Reign featuring Jimmy Alapag and Jay Washington, Green Light featuring the DLSU Green Archers, A Perilous Journey UPwards featuring the UP Fighting Maroons, HYPE sections featuring Adamson's Lester Alvarez and UST's Jeric Teng and my personal favorite -- The Backboard Section featuring Danny Seigle. Cop your SLAM PH copy now. PHP 200.00 at leading bookstores and magazine stands.
For inquiries and comments, follow SLAM PH on twitter: @slamonlineph
These scribbles have stories to tell; two impossible games, the quarter scores, the big names, the starting units, the players off the bench and the improbable match-ups. Sorry kung magulo yung nakasulat sa index cards. It's hard to write clearly when one's in a state of shock. MH
Rain or Shine Assistant Coach Caloy Garcia has many look-alikes. This isn't according to me. I'm just sharing what his closest friends in the PBA always say. They say he looks like former 80's teen star Jestoni Alarcon. They say he looks like former 80's child star and 90's action star Ian Veneracion. But now I'd like to know what you guys think; Sino ba talaga kamukha ni Coach Caloy? MH
Last night, I was trying to convince PBA sportscaster and notorious technophobic Dominic Uy to finally open a Twitter account. So I asked tweeps if they wanted Dominic to join Twitter. I wanted to show him that such a demand, while hard to believe, exists.
My tweet at 10:50pm: "Guys, gusto niyo ba mag open ng twitter account si Dominic Uy?:)"
The very first reply from @itsmebryllDLeon at 10:51pm: "wag nalang! hapi na kami sa iyo. hahaha..joke."
After consoling a teary-eyed Dominic for the next 5 minutes, I showed him the multitude of tweeps who wanted him on Twitter. I recall around 3 people tweeted, "Yes". Thanks to you guys, I think he's ready to tweet. But it won't be easy for him. How can I convince Dominic to embrace Twitter if he's still using this phone:
Reading "Tick Tick - the long life and turbulent times of 60 Minutes". It's about the legendary US news-magazine show 60 Minutes and its equally legendary Executive Producer Don Hewitt. It's about combustible television. It's about media power-play. It's about news. It's about entertainment. It's about infotainment. It's about vision. It's about self-destruction. It's about an institution.
Got hooked by this paragraph in the prologue:
"This was Hewitt's screening room; these were his hallways, his offices, his editing rooms and telephones. These were the men and women who worked tirelessly, day and night, to execute his vision. Here on the ninth floor of a nondescript office building...he ruled over a show that shook up television - a show that took viewers into private worlds...that opened a window into the minds of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton...for just another few hours, this remains the kingdom of Don Hewitt's creation; he is ruler of all that he surveys."
To know more about the impact of 60 Minutes on journalism and pop-culture, try watching the 1999 Michael Mann (Miami Vice) film "The Insider" (nominated for Oscar Best Picture) starring Academy Award winner Al Pacino and Academy Award winner Russell Crowe. And, read this book. MH
I honestly thought it was a well-prepared skit. And that Kobe's choice to wear an FEU jersey was a carefully-planned politically-correct decision. Because if Kobe opted to wear either blue or green, due to the expected overflow of Atenean or La Sallian braggadocio, twitter would explode. So I asked around and uncovered the funny story. Turns out Kobe never thought of playing. Nike Country Manager Mae Dichupa swears, "Not at all! It was just supposed to be a clinic." For whatever reason, maybe it was the crowd, maybe it was watching our young players play, maybe he just wanted to play ball, Kobe decided to join the Gilas vs UAAP scrimmage. And Kobe wanted to help the UAAP squad so he needed a jersey.
Quick to react, Bert Flores, FEU Head Coach and Coach of the UAAP Selection vs Gilas, handed him a brand new FEU jersey. "Binigay sa amin ng Nike supply namin, pa-authograph ko sana yun," Flores said. "Tapos gusto niya maglaro kaya binigay ko sa kanya. Gusto daw niya dilaw para Lakers. Sabi ko 'This is the FEU jersey, do you want to wear this?' and sabi niya, 'Yes!' kaya binigay ko na."
I immediately asked FEU Athletic Director Mark Molina if Kobe was the best player to ever wear an FEU jersey. Molina replied, "Wala kaming magawa. Talagang he chose to wear FEU over ADMU and DLSU. Was Kobe best player to wear FEU jersey? Tingin ko lamang ng konti sa kanya si (Bryant) Punzalan at si (Jun) Paguinto." MH
Here's how Kobe Bryant reached Barangay Pinagsama Phase 1 in Taguig from the Manila Peninsula Hotel last July 13. Actual directions sent to us:
To get to Brgy. Pinagsama Phase 1 Basketball Court, Taguig - Take C5 southbound, on your left, you will see a Petron gas station. Just go straight. You'll see a road on your left going towards Heritage Park, this would be Bayani Road. Proceed to turn left, follow the road until you hit a break in the island where you make a u-turn. Make the u-turn, then go straight until you hit the underpass. Make a left going northbound, take the service road, not C5. Then go straight until you see an arch on your right that says Brgy. Pinagsama Phase 1. Make a right and go straight. You'll see the court there. MH
I'm stoked to see a PBA star like LA Tenorio in a polished, ably-produced television commercial. Even more stoked that it's neither for a PBA team nor PBA product. Rather, it's for a sports brand with a solid reputation for making sic sports commercials in the US. Nothing against former UST Growling Tiger turned commercial model Derick Hubalde (in fact, I'm happy to see him build a nice TVC portfolio), but Gatorade TVC's focusing on basketball should feature elite PBA stars.
As such, I hope Gatorade features more PBA stars in future TVC's. But Alaska's LA Tenorio, the team's only true point guard who plays hyper-extended minutes on the floor, is a great first choice for 2011.
Tenorio's Gatorade TVC also tells us several things: 1) LA now has something in common with Michael Jordan b) I now have something in common with LA -- he drinks Gatorade to lead fastbreaks, I drink Gatorade to run my 10K's (especially needed it to rehydrate when I did my 16K in the peak of summer last March and will surely need it when I do my first 21K hopefully in two months) -- and lastly c) Hans Thiele is one very, very sensitive and concerned teammate (check 9-sec mark of TVC). MH Michael Jordan Gatorade TVC
Derick Hubalde Gatorade TVC - yup, the guy about to shoot on a 25-foot rim is Paolo Hubalde's older brother.
Two...that's the number of hours I spend each day, more or less, on NBA Fantasy; fixing rosters, researching on free agents, checking on injuries, checking on opposing fantasy teams. If the NBA Lockout obliterates the 2011-2012 NBA Fantasy season, I will get two hours back per day.
That's 14 hours a week, 60 hours a month, 420 hours for the entire season, 25,200 total minutes I can use to read books, clean the car, write more blogs or run more miles instead. Or...I can just use the entire NBA lockout period to...prepare for the next NBA Fantasy Season whenever that may be. Tama! Tama! Two hours per day. One step at a time. MH
