By Jay Paloma
I thought seeing practice sessions during the first two days was exciting enough...to have seen Formula 1 machinery and hearing internal combustion engines at their peak. It was NOTHING compared with the excitement and mayhem at the start of the race.
In practice sessions, no one was actually up against each other...it was every car and team for themselves. One would be lucky enough to have seen 2 to 3 cars on the same place at the same time. But 20 cars passing the same area in a little over than 10 seconds was simply indescribable!
Maybe the medical community should confirm if adrenalin levels in the bloodstream are directly proportional to the decibel levels picked up by the ear.
You wished you were here at the starting line of the F1 Grand Prix race in Singapore? Wish granted, or let's just say, "Watch this video" that I took.
Here's Day 1 Practice Session. This is Turn 13, just off Anderson Bridge here in Singapore.
After seeing the F1 map, and noticing that Turn 13 is a tight left turn from a 10-meter wide Anderson Bridge to Esplanade Drive, I knew that the race cars would run slow in this section. The fact that the cars are facing the walkabout area before making that left turn makes it a perfect spot to take pictures and a video.
September 2008 Archives
By Alex Villafania, Lawrence Casiraya, Erika Tapalla, Janie Octia, Edzelle Pena and Rastle Lozano
A Venue on Makati Avenue became host to amateur mixed martial arts featuring college students in URCC University Challenge III, and INQUIRER.net was there to record the matches.
In the 11th and last match, Ateneo de Manila University’s Mikhail Ignacio was victorious over Paolo Gomez of De La Salle University, giving Ateneo a 3-0 slate over La Salle in the amateur mixed martial arts event. Ignacio won halfway through the first round when the referee stopped the match. It was the shortest fight of the three main bouts with Gomez unable to recover from Ignacio’s strikes and grapples.
In the 10th match, Niko Presbitero of the De La Salle University started the match strong, firing punches at Ryan Marquez of the Ateneo de Manila University in the tenth match of the URCC University Challenge III being held at the A. Venue events hall in Makati City. In Round 2, however, Marquez started to recover, holding onto Presbitero in a reverse chokehold, forcing him to submit and giving Ateneo its second win over La Salle.
In the ninth match, De la Salle University’s Doi Rodriguez tapped out against Ateneo de Manila’s Ronnie Ticao after a series of ground-and-pound attacks by the latter. In both rounds of the fight, Ticao reigned the ring despite Rodriguez’s attempts to turn the tables against him.
In the eighth match, PMI College’s Jay Co Telan threw wicked roundhouse kicks against opponent Jeff Dogma of Perpetual. During the second round, Telan delivered strikes to the head and stomach of Dogma and almost caught him with an arm bar but ran out of time. Telan finished the eighth match of the evening with ground-and-pound techniques on Dogma, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
In the seventh match, Perpetual’s Giovanni Valenciano dominated University of the East's Raymond Carlos, delivering several knee-strikes. The fight had to be paused several times when the fighters grappled toward the ropes.
In the sixth match, it was a close battle between fighters Alvin Ramirez of AMA and Kalayaan College’s Carlo Juarez. Both fighters traded good blows but in the end the judges decided Ramirez was the better warrior.
In the fifth match, Miguel Gerard Alo of the University of the Philippines Diliman won against AMA’s JR Amores in the second round. Alo dominated the match against Amores with several body slams. He was able to hold on against a ground-and-pound attack by Amores in the last few seconds of Round 1 but by Round 2, Alo completely dominated the game with a flurry of strikes that became the highlight of the fight.
In the fourth match, San Beda Alabang’s Mike Dula was victorious when the referee stopped his fight against Val Castelano of the De La Salle University early in the third round. Castelano was being pummeled the entire second round and early in the third round, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
In the third match, Lawrence Chan of Emilio Aguinaldo College won via submission at the expense of TESDA’s Robin Pajantoy in the first round via an arm bar. The fight was momentarily stopped when Chan's headgear was loosened. Chan was losing the match but was able to reverse Pajantoy's hold in the last few seconds of Round 1.
In the second match, UP Diliman’s Gilbert Ombao was on top of AMA College’s Angelo Christi all throughout the fight, leading the judges to call it in favor of Ombao after the second round.
In the first match, Franz Altarejos of the Entrepreneurs’ School of Asia won via submission using a choke hold against Jonathan Lacson of the University of the Philippines. Altarejos dispatched of Lacson in 43 seconds of the first round, quickly wrapping up the first match.
Visit our URCC University Challenge III Special Site at www.inquirer.net/specialreports/urcc
Boxing superstars Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao will each make one of the biggest announcements of their respective careers when they officially announce their December 6 megafight at the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York City.
The press event, the first ever to take place on Liberty Island, will kick-off a six-city press tour marking the official announcement of what is a dream match-up for sports fans and one of the biggest fights in boxing history.
While the Statue of Liberty hosts more than five million visitors each year, this will be the first press conference ever held on Liberty Island. Dedicated in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States.
The Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight is a 12-round, 147-pound welterweight bout set for Saturday, Dec. 6 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"Although I am from the Philippines, the United States has given me the greatest opportunity to advance my career and financial security for my family and me," said Pacquiao. "Many Filipinos and some of my family members live there and the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of the great opportunities offered by the United States to the rest of the world."
"Having the opportunity to announce the fight at the Statue of Liberty is like a dream come true for me," said De La Hoya. "As the son of immigrants and a very proud Mexican-American, I believe the Statue of Liberty is the United States' greatest symbol of freedom and opportunity.”
In addition to the Statue of Liberty stop, the De La Hoya versus Pacquiao press tour will stop at other monumental locations across the United States. The tour schedule is as follows:
- October 1 New York City-Statue of Liberty-Open to the Public (Noon)
- October 2 Chicago, IL-Sears Tower-Media Only (Noon)
- October 3 Houston, TX-Space Center Houston-Media Only (11:00 am)
- October 3 San Antonio, TX-The Alamo-Open to the Public (3:00 pm)
- October 4 San Francisco, CA-Golden Gate Park Chrissy Field-Open to the Public (Noon)
- October 7 Los Angeles, CA-Whittier Boulevard Arch-Open to the Public (Noon)
By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
OLYMPIC medalist and American swimmer Michael Phelps hates getting out of a warm bed every morning to jump into a cold pool.
Michael Phelps from Oracle WebVideo on Vimeo.
(Video courtesy of OracleWebVideo)
Speaking briefly during the opening day here at Oracle World, Phelps who won a world-record eight gold medals revealed that he wakes up early in the morning -- around 7 a.m.-- swims, then eats lots of breakfast before he sleeps again at around 10 a.m.
This was his daily regimen that made him an outstanding athlete, he said as he quickly warmed up to a group of about 40,000 people attending Oracle Open World here in San Francisco.
Phelps wowed the world when he broke the world record, winning eight gold medals in various men's swimming competition during the Beijing Summer Olympics. He surpassed an earlier record set by fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz who won 7 Olympic golds.
MANILA, Philippines -- At Sunday’s Game 1 in the best-of-three UAAP collegiate finals series, the Ateneo Blue Eagles drew first blood over rival La Salle Green Archers. In an article by Marlon Ramos, five suspected scalpers were caught allegedly selling tickets for P1,500--20 times the ticket’s face value of P75. Still, in another report by Jasmine Payo, two patron tickets, originally priced at P350, were sold at P25,000.
As a paradox, the blockbuster game showcased talents for game play that every fan would want to witness and be part of. Likewise, this paves way for opportunists to get into the business of selling overpriced tickets. It could be a simple case of symbiosis, or the law of supply and demand: die-hard fans buy overpriced tickets from scalpers to watch the game at the court and rally for their teams. Building up team spirit? For scalpers, this is an opportunity to sell overprized tickets to fans before the fight begins.
Genius or madness?
A blog written by DLSU graduate Paul Garilao cited a LaSallian October 2002 article on scalpers. Mang Jimmy, a scalper for over eight years, travels from Cavite to DLSU to get spare tickets from professors and students. The tickets he sold during the 2002 game have a scalped price below:
According to the blog, the scalper earned as much as P20,000 (in 2002) from scalping when game favorites such as Ateneo and La Salle play in the court. It is reasonable to add up some more figures to that if its finals seasons.
The scalping market continues to exist alongside each game. Each ballgame has two faces: a celebration of each team’s finest and an opportunity to earn big. Scalpers, in essence, will never run out of business as long as there will be people who can pay the price for their desired game tickets. Is this genius or madness? Who’s the winner and who’s the loser? You answer.
According to the blog, the scalper earned as much as P20,000 (in 2002) from scalping when game favorites such as Ateneo and La Salle play in the court. It is reasonable to add up some more figures to that if its finals seasons.
The scalping market continues to exist alongside each game. Each ballgame has two faces: a celebration of each team’s finest and an opportunity to earn big. Scalpers, in essence, will never run out of business as long as there will be people who can pay the price for their desired game tickets. Is this genius or madness? Who’s the winner and who’s the loser? You answer.
By Rastle Lozano
INQUIRER.net
SIX-year old skater boy, Alah Rick "Potpot" Corpuz shows off his skills at skateboarding and relates how he started learning the sport. In the video interview conducted by INQUIRER.net production specialist Rastle Lozano, Potpot's father explains how he has helped his son through the years become a better skater.
Billabong Southeast Asia marketing manager Peter Thew talks about Billabong Cloud9 Invitational 2008 while former Surigao del Norte Gov. Robert Lyndon Barbers explains why the place in Siargao is called 'Cloud9.' Meanwhile, surfers Dave Woodall, Laurie Towner and Ronnie "Poks" Esquivel talk about surfing as a recreation and how life is like riding the waves.
Skaters, wakeboarders, and surfers gathered during the Manila press launch of the Billabong Cloud9 Invitational 2008. A total of 36 international and 12 Filipino surfers were invited to join the Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational 2008. But wakeboarding and skating events were held earlier during the launch at the SM Mall of Asia. Organizers said the surfing competition in Siargao will start on September 20 to 26, depending on the weather and the wave conditions in the area.
Billabong Southeast Asia marketing manager Peter Thew talks about Billabong Cloud9 Invitational 2008 while former Surigao del Norte Gov. Robert Lyndon Barbers explains why the place in Siargao is called 'Cloud9.' Meanwhile, surfers Dave Woodall, Laurie Towner and Ronnie "Poks" Esquivel talk about surfing as a recreation and how life is like riding the waves.
Skaters, wakeboarders, and surfers gathered during the Manila press launch of the Billabong Cloud9 Invitational 2008. A total of 36 international and 12 Filipino surfers were invited to join the Billabong Cloud 9 Invitational 2008. But wakeboarding and skating events were held earlier during the launch at the SM Mall of Asia. Organizers said the surfing competition in Siargao will start on September 20 to 26, depending on the weather and the wave conditions in the area.
Yes, Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez wants to be in Oscar De La Hoya's shoes right now, as he declared that this match is going to be "a great, great fight."
Excerpt from Salven Lagumbay's report:
Although he is salivating to be in Oscar De la Hoya’s shoes, Mexican icon Juan Manuel Marquez says the Dec. 6 battle between his tormentor Manny Pacquiao and his promoter Oscar De la Hoya is going to be “a great, great fight.” Marquez was reacting to a question posed by the media as he prepares to challenge Ring Magazine lightweight king Joel Casamayor on Sunday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. “Well, I mean that’s (De La Hoya-Pacquiao) a fight that everybody wants to see, everybody is talking about it now,” said Marquez, who still insists that he beat Pacquiao in their two outings in 2004 and 2008.
By Izah Morales
WITH the thumping beat and hip hop groove, the University of the Philippines pep squad wowed the audience in their tribal-inspired stunts and routines allowing them to defend their title and becoming the 2008 UAAP Cheerdance Competition champion.
UP pep squad team captain Angelica Sison, BA Communication Research senior, said that with the support of family, friends, and teammates, they were able to pull through despite the injuries and challenges they encountered.
“As long as one person is fighting, hindi pwedeng bumitaw, talagang kapit lang talaga lahat (we cannot quit, we just held on),” said Sison.
Sison said this year’s competition brought a lot of pressure on them since UP is hosting the UAAP and is celebrating its centennial year.
Nonetheless, this helped them refocus their vision on the competition leading to the enhancement of their routines, she said.
Sison observed that all of the teams have improved this year, bringing the competition to a higher level.
About 20,000 people dressed in yellow, maroon, green, blue, red, white with exhilarating energy rocked the big dome as they cheered for their alma mater with their respective banners.
WITH the thumping beat and hip hop groove, the University of the Philippines pep squad wowed the audience in their tribal-inspired stunts and routines allowing them to defend their title and becoming the 2008 UAAP Cheerdance Competition champion.
UP pep squad team captain Angelica Sison, BA Communication Research senior, said that with the support of family, friends, and teammates, they were able to pull through despite the injuries and challenges they encountered.
“As long as one person is fighting, hindi pwedeng bumitaw, talagang kapit lang talaga lahat (we cannot quit, we just held on),” said Sison.
Sison said this year’s competition brought a lot of pressure on them since UP is hosting the UAAP and is celebrating its centennial year.
Nonetheless, this helped them refocus their vision on the competition leading to the enhancement of their routines, she said.
Sison observed that all of the teams have improved this year, bringing the competition to a higher level.
About 20,000 people dressed in yellow, maroon, green, blue, red, white with exhilarating energy rocked the big dome as they cheered for their alma mater with their respective banners.
UPDATE: In this video, Manny Pacquiao announces his plans to retire next year and his intention to run for politics in 2010. Pacquiao says he will be retiring after three more fights, including the one with Oscar De La Hoya.
MANNY "Pacman" Pacquiao that he never imagined the day he would be fighting Oscar "The Golden Boy" De La Hoya in the ring. Admitting his admiration for the Mexican fighter, Pacquiao also believes that he is ready to face a tough opponent.
Marc Anthony Reyes of the Philippine Daily Inquirer writes:
For national boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, fighting Oscar De La Hoya “was never in his wildest dreams.” Openly declaring his admiration for one of boxing’s biggest stars, Pacquiao wrote in his column in the tabloid Abante that he never thought he would be in the ring soon with De La Hoya, seven years after fighting in his undercard at the same MGM Grand venue.Fans also see a knockout win for Pacquiao, writes Reyes.
The majority of online boxing fans believe that Manny Pacquiao will pull off a “shock knockout” victory over his boyhood idol Oscar De La Hoya when they clash on Dec. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In a poll conducted by the Pacquiao website Pacland, 46 percent of the respondents said the national boxing hero will beat the taller, bigger and craftier De La Hoya.Boxing observers also share the same opinion, favoring a win for Pacquiao.
Former boxer Barry McGuigan, in an article on the Internet, wrote that De La Hoya will “have Pacquiao on the end of that long jab and will be looking to drop the right hand on him at every opportunity.” McGuigan expects Pacquiao’s corner, though, to draft a clever war strategy— “courtesy of the great tactician Freddie Roach”—to “bring De La Hoya down.” “Pacquiao will want to dictate terms, apply pressure from the center of the ring, keep the tempo high,” said McGuigan. “If De La Hoya is weight-drained, the body will be a big target for Pacquiao to take away his opponent’s strength and resolve.”
