By Mike Sy
INQUIRER.net

LAST weekend, I took a trip to Macau with my family and, on a rainy Sunday, when I was supposed to travel with them by ferry to Hong Kong, I was prevented from leaving by Macau immigration because I could not show them my stamped departure card (unfortunately, my wife misplaced it) and also forgot to bring my valid passport (my wife accidentally brought an expired one and left the valid one at our hotel). After telling them to go ahead without me (yipee!), I checked my city map to see how to get to the Macau Grand Prix Museum. I was happy to find that it was just a short five-minute walk from my hotel.

The museum, which opened in 1993 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Macau Grand Prix, is an avid racing fan’s dream with various car and motorcycle displays, pictures and other memorabilia. There is also an F1 simulator to test your skills in a Formula 1 car.

The grand prix itself was a stepping stone for many racing drivers, and it was amazing to see how many of the famous names from Formula 1 and MotoGP began their fledgling careers by competing in the Macau Grand Prix. The list included Michael and Ralf Schumacher, Takuma Sato, David Coulthard, Mikka Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna and Jenson Button to name a few. From MotoGP, I saw the name of former world champion Kevin Schwantz.

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By Roy Luarca
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao arrived Monday from a vacation in the United States and reiterated his desire to avenge the loss of his brother Bobby to Mexican Humberto Soto in New York recently.

“It’s going to be a beautiful fight; Soto is also good,” said Pacquiao, who was accompanied by wife Jingkee and sons Emmanuel Jr. and Michael Stephen.

Manny received his award as Fighter of the Year from the Boxing Writers Association of America on June 8, and then gave his deposition in the case filed by Golden Boy Promotions against Top Rank in Los Angeles.

Nothing definite has come out of the promotional tug-of-war.

I HAVE been following intently the careers of our Filipino racecar drivers, in the hope that one day, a Filipino will be able to reach the pinnacle of motor racing which is Formula One.

More than 10 years ago, we had a Filipino driver named Jovy Marcelo who became the first Filipino to race in the Indy 500 after winning the Toyota Atlantic Championship. Unfortunately, his life was cut short by an accident during practice in 1992.

Now, we have Tyson Sy trying to blaze a trail in the Star Mazda championship, a competitive open wheel driver development series that produced current Torro Rosso F1 driver Scott Speed and IRL driver Marco Andretti.

In the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland last June 9, Tyson Sy finished sixth out of a field of 30 young racers, 11.003 seconds off the lead car after qualifying an excellent sixth the day before.

I hope Tyson would continue with his good performance in this series, and I look forward to the day when a Filipino driver would stand on the top step of the podium in F1.

IT’S funny, my friends and I were just talking about this a few nights ago while drinking at Taberna Ocho and talking about our favorite Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters and matches.

OK, we were talking about pro wrestling as well ‘coz we’ve been fans since back during the days when World Wrestling Entertainment was still called the World Wrestling Federation, but let’s talk about real sports here, heh

Anyway, we were talking about how mixed martial arts is becoming more and more mainstream, and wondering whether it would one day be as popular as boxing itself. I even pointed out that because of some of the shenanigans going on with some boxing promoters, MMA might end up being more respectable, more real.

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By Andrew Fagan
Agence France-Presse

MONTREAL–Lewis Hamilton dedicated his maiden Formula One race victory to his father Anthony on Sunday after cruising to an assured, cool and measured triumph in the Canadian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old British rookie, the most successful newcomer in the sport’s history, said he felt “fantastic” and “on a different planet” after emerging clear of his rivals following a crash-hit and incident-filled 70-lap contest at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

He even said that driving around and keeping his concentration during the four periods in which he was leading while following a Safety Car was “boring.”

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THE CLEVELAND Cavaliers gamely tried to carve out a come-from-behind victory with a big fourth-quarter run, but in the end their efforts just weren’t good enough as the San Antonio Spurs won 103-92 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the National Basketball Association finals.

The question now is: Do the Cavs still have what it takes to make a comeback? Or will the Spurs’ championship experience just be too much for them? Could the Spurs score a sweep?

And if you were the Cavs, what adjustments would you make to get back in this series?

By Jim Slater
Agence France-Presse

SAN ANTONIO, Texas–Tony Parker and Tim Duncan sparked the San Antonio Spurs past Cleveland 85-76 here Thursday in the opener of the National Basketball Association Finals, humbling LeBron James in the process.

Parker scored 27 points while Duncan, a three-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to give the Spurs the lead in the best-of-seven championship series that continues here Sunday.

James, the flamboyant 22-year-old playmaker who lifted the Cavaliers into their first NBA Finals, made only 4-of-16 shots for 14 points, giving away six turnovers as San Antonio’s defense frustrated and contained him all night.

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WHO are you rooting for in the National Basketball Association finals? And why do you think your team will win?

As for me, I’m a Dallas Mavericks fan so olats na hehe I was a big Chicago Bulls fan during the Michael Jordan years. Not yet that devoted to the Mavs, but they’ve been my fave team for the past few, frustrating years.

Anyway, I know the San Antonio Spurs are favored to win but I’m rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James.

Oh, and here’s an interesting fact about this NBA finals: it will involve a record nine non-US players.

Will King James pull it off? We’ll see.

WHAT a tragedy!

Here’s an excerpt from Marc Anthony Reyes’ article for the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

“He is a big loss to the national team,” said Gus Sta. Maria, director of national coaches of the Philippine Volleyball Federation. “He’s tall and talented, the best player we had in the team.”

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SO, does Kobe Bryant want the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him or not?

Almost as if he’s channeling Hamlet (”Kobe or not Kobe?” heh), Kobe first pleaded with the LA Lakers to trade him, then apparently changed his mind, and then… well, does anybody really know what he’s thinking now?

Anyway, this near-meltdown in public has a bunch of NBA teams dreaming of what it would be like to have Kobe suit up for them, but do you think he’s worth it? Or will he turn out to be a nightmare for whichever team gets him?

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