February 2009 Archives

Agence France-Presse CLOVIS--Police on Wednesday said they have recovered a one-of-a-kind bicycle swiped from Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong at a northern California racing venue. A person brought the purloined Trek training bicycle to a police station in the city of Sacramento, where it was stolen during the weekend. The person's name was not released by police, who said the investigation of the theft is ongoing. Police said they returned the bicycle to Armstrong, who competed Wednesday in the Tour of California. The seven-time Tour de France champion had used the bicycle Saturday at a rain-pelted, wind-pounded opening of the 750-mile race that continues through the week. Armstrong's bicycle was one of several stolen from an Astana team truck parked behind a hotel in Sacramento. A lock on the truck was clipped to get inside, according to police. Armstrong on Sunday sent out a rallying cry to the more than 128,000 Twitter members signed up to receive brief text messages he routinely fires off on the popular micro-blogging service. A Facebook group called "1 Million Citizens Looking for Lance Armstrong's Stolen Bike" had grown to 1,282 members by the time word of the Trek's return hit the Internet on Wednesday. While there was no obvious link between the bicycle's return and Internet forces rallying to Armstrong's aid, online campaigns helped make life tough for the thief or thieves, said Sergeant Norm Leong of the Sacramento police force. "All the technology involved really kept the story alive and moving," Leong said. "It was clear that most of the people in the community were looking for this bike. It makes it hard to transport the thing; you can't ride it or sell it...it is that hot of an item." The man who delivered Armstrong's bicycle is not considered a theft suspect and no arrests had been made as of late Wednesday, according to the sergeant. Two other bicycles stolen from Armstrong's team were still missing. "Score one for the good guys," a Twitter user using the screen name 'kraftmstr' wrote as news of the Trek's return ricocheted about the website. Attention on Twitter swiftly shifted back to Armstrong's latest day in the saddle. "Watching Lance Armstrong gently shove an idiot into the snow on the roadside in the tour of California," Twitter user Pete Watson said in a message about what he was doing at the moment. "Falling over laughing - excellent." Cancer-survivor Armstrong, 37, retired in 2005 but has set out to make a comeback. The California race is his second on a comeback trail that started last month in Australia, where he finished 29th place in the Tour Down Under. Armstrong intends to compete in this year's Tour de France.

Lawrence Casiraya INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines --More than 600 intellectually disabled athletes will gather in Lingayen, Pangasinan next month for the four-day national Special Olympics. This year's games serves as a prelude to the next World Special Olympics to be held in Athens, Greece. Special Olympics Philippines (SOP), a non-profit organization that started in 1978, conducts these national games every two years. In the most recent Special Olympics held in Shanghai, China in 2007 or a year before the Beijing Summer Olympics, a team of 40 athletes represented the country and won a total 52 medals, nine of them gold. The team competed and won in gymnastics, athletics, powerlifting and bocce (an Italian variety of lawn bowling), among others. The Special Olympics seeks to provide a venue for the intellectually disabled to excel through sports. Special Olympics organizations exist in over 180 countries worldwide with programs serving nearly three million athletes. Intellectual disability is described as a condition of impaired or incomplete mental development which originates during early childhood characterized by delayed development in several areas including learning. There are now close to 10,000 intellectually disabled athletes registered under SOP, according to the group's chairperson Dr. Maria Therese Macapagal. These include those with Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism. "Many of them are mild cases that you won't readily notice because there's intervention already," Macapagal said. Nonetheless, SOP is hoping that through sports, the intellectually disabled can receive more favorable attention from the public. The group is mounting a campaign against using the "R" word – "retarded" or "retard" – to stereotype the intellectually disabled. "It's a lifelong condition that has to be remedied. It can be remedied with proper intervention at the early stages," Macapagal said during a press briefing Tuesday announcing this year's national Special Olympics. According to the World Health Organization, anywhere between 3 to 7 percent of any given population is intellectually disabled. But Alex Babst, SOP national program director, believes that there are many cases of intellectually disabled people that go unreported in the Philippines because many families try to hide them or reject proper treatment for fear of public ridicule. According to him, the intellectually disabled are also behind the physically handicapped when it comes to job placements. "The Special Olympics serves to highlight intellectually disabled people and their ability, not disability," he said.

By Esther Misa Chavez Oakland-- Thousands of Filipinos from the Bay Area showed up to give their support to the second Filipino Heritage Night during the Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers game at the Oracle Arena. Some Filipinos bought special tickets and wore their dark blue commemorative, while some well-heeled Pinoys shelled out $150 to be at the VIP lounge. Portions of the revenue benefited Filipino American non-profit organizations. Filipino heritage was showcased before and during the ball game, starting with a martial arts performance from the Kamatuuran School of Kalijin under Joseph Arriola. Philippine flags and Filipino sports and martial arts memorabilia were also on display and for sale. A quartet called "Pinay" composed of UC Berkeley alumnae sang the American anthem accapela and dancers from the Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble under Herna Cruz, were on center court during one of the time-outs dancing the Tinikling while the Warriors and Trail Blazers huddled around their respective coaches for the next game play. Needless to say, the Warriors led most of the game and won 105-98 over Trail Blazers. Franco Finn, the official Warriors "hype man" kept the crowds entertained with constant announcements of freebies and contests, as he tied the whole Pinoy Heritage Night into one great fun experience. "We want to commend the Golden State Warriors for celebrating and honoring the Filipino American community at a regular season National Basketball League game. By showcasing Filipino American culture in this way, the Warriors truly honor the many contributions of Filipinos to American society," Filipino Heritage Night organizer, Al Perez, president of FAAE, said. Perez was joined by organizer Rudy Asercion, Executive Director of West Bay Multical Center in San Francisco. “As one of the community beneficiaries of this game, the funds that we will receive will go a long way in helping us realize our mission of broadening awareness and deepening the understanding of Filipino history, achievements and culture,” he added. Next Filipino Heritage events will be at the Sacramento Kings game on Friday, February 27. Special guest will be Jabbawokees. Followed by the San Francisco Giants Filipino Heritage Game slated for Tuesday, April 21. Special guest is Manny Pacquiao who will throw the first pitch. A Manny Pacquiao bobblehead will also be given away.

Agence France-Presse COLORADO SPRINGS--USA Swimming suspended Olympic superstar Michael Phelps for three months on Thursday, a "reprimand" after a published photograph showed him apparently smoking marijuana. The national governing body of the sport stressed that the punishment was not for a doping violation, but said they wanted to send a "strong message" to Phelps about his status as a role model for young people. "USA Swimming has reprimanded Michael Phelps uner its Code of Conduct by withdrawing financial support and the eligibility to compete for a period of three months effective today, February 5," a statement from USA Swimming said. "This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero. "Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust," the statement said. Britain's News of the World published the photograph in which Phelps appeared to inhale from a glass pipe of the kind used to smoke marijuana. The newspaper said the photo was taken in South Carolina in November. The 23-year-old swimmer, who electrified the Beijing Games in August when he won an unprecedented eight gold medals, told his hometown newspaper the Baltimore Sun on Wednesday that the incident was "obviously bad judgment and it's something I'm not proud of at all."

THE Golden State Warriors are holding Filipino Heritage Night #2 on Thursday, February 12 against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Oracle Arena , which will start at 7:30 p.m., the team has announced. The first Filipino Heritage Night, which drew over 2,500 fans and created the demand for the upcoming event, was held last November 21 against the Chicago Bulls. As part of the evening, Filipino cultural elements will be on display, including a Filipino cultural performance on-court prior to the game. Fans can purchase a special discounted Filipino Heritage Night ticket for $30 (with additional savings available for groups of 20-or-more), which includes a seat in the Filipino Heritage Night section and a limited edition Filipino Heritage Night t-shirt. A portion of each ticket sold as part of the Filipino Heritage Night package will be donated to Bay Area Filipino non-profit organizations. For more information on the Golden State Warriors, log on to www.warriors.com.

UPDATE: After 13 rounds, Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So emerges as the champion in the Group C of the Corus Chess tournament in the Netherlands. +++ After 12 rounds, Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So finishes on top of Group C of the Corus Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. According to the Corus Chess website, So has earned a total of 9 points, making him the number one contender in Group C. This Filipino teen sensation has been competing in the Corus Chess tournament, which started January 16 and ended on February 1. Based on the Corus Chess website, the standings are as follows: So with 9 points; Anish Giri with 8; Tiger Hillarp Persson with 7½; David Howell with 7; Abhijeet Gupta with 6½; Frank Holzke with 6; Frisco Nijboer, Dronavalli Harika, Manuel Bosboom, and Roeland Pruijssers all with 5½; Manuel Leon Hoyos with 5; Eduardo Iturrizaga and Ali Bitalzadeh with 4½; and finally Oleg Romanishin with 4. You can watch the games here. Thanks to readers Bobby Echeverria and Patrick So for the heads up.