Men’s Tennis Open in Bohol

The town of Ubay, Bohol—where my father-in-law, Atty. Jacinto “Jack” Mendez, was raised and continues to visit almost monthly—will play host to a major event: the Mayor Eutiquio Bernales Cup National Open Tennis Tournament. Scheduled from January 21 to 25, a total of P50,000 in prize money is allocated for the participants which, apart from top Cebuano netters like Bo Alburo and Michael Quiñones, will include high-ranking stars Johnny Arcilla, Elbert Anasta, Alexander Lazaro and Ricardo Lagac. The champion will receive P20,000, the runner, P10,000; and the semifinalists and other good performers won’t go home empty-handed. What’s best is that all out-of-town players will be accommodated in Ubay, Bohol for… free! Yes, free housing and free food will be showered upon all players. To top it all, this is a Philippine Tennis Association (Philta)-sanctioned tournament. For now, the singles event is guaranteed but a doubles tournament might also be played during the same week. All interested must register soonest. Call the event organizer, Tngardz Uy at 0920-6049060.

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Categorized as Tennis

‘All set for Sinulog 21K,’ by Raffy Uytiepo

At The Freeman newspaper today, this article was written by the Dean of Cebu Running, Raffy Uytiepo… CEBU – It’s all systems go for the 2nd Cebu Sinulog Half – Marathon that fires off on January 17 at the Asiatown IT Park. After deliberating whether to move the race, due to time constraints, the Cebu Executive Runners Club, organizers of the race decided to stick with the same week as the Sinulog Festival in order to give out-of-towners a chance to witness the world – class festival.

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Categorized as Running

Armstrong pedals for another Tour de Lance ride

Ask me for my shortlist of five all-time sporting greats and this I’ll answer: One is currently the world’s No.1 pound-for-pound boxer, the other got knee-injured in golf but is now recuperating; the three others are long-retired: there’s a forehand specialist named Pete, a slam dunk champion first-named Michael and a cyclist who should have died in 1996. You all know them, right?

Well, here’s the good news. One of those three retirees is coming back…

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Categorized as Cycling

This 2009, if Barack Obama can… Yes We Can

Among all the superlatives that people attach beside the name of the incoming US President—“the first among 44,” “the new JFK,” “the savior of U.S.A. after the debacle named W.”—there is one more attribute that fits best on these back pages: “Exercise-in-Chief.”

Yes. Because while staring at Barack Obama’s scrawny look on CNN might give you the impression that, underneath that cover, he’s fragile and feeble—think again. He’s not.

Superman? Is he? Is there an “S” hidden underneath that dark suit? Ha-ha. It’s New Year’s Day—not April Fool’s Day—so I won’t lie to you in saying that he’s Will Smith-muscular.

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Categorized as Exercise

Eight top sporting stories of 2008

As 48 hours remain of the year that brought us 8-8-8, here are, in my opinion, the world’s most celebrated sports stories….

8) 8-8-8: Beijing. Wasn’t it symbolic? Perfect? That their revered number “8” would be their land’s first-ever Olympics? At 8 p.m.? On the eighth day? Of the eighth month? Of the century’s eighth year? As we all look back at the 17 Olympic days, this we can conclude: No other event was bigger-spent, had a more overwhelming Opening Ceremony, and an almost flawless execution than in Beijing.

PacMan vs. Hitman: Man, will this be a clash!

Wembley Stadium, according to Wikipedia, “is the largest stadium in the world with every seat under cover.” Having hosted football’s most honored trophies—the FIFA World Cup and the EUFA Champions League—it seats a massive 90,000. Will Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton stand at the giant coliseum’s center to brawl? No, answers Bob Arum. The 77-year-old promoter wants the fight held at it’s usual stage: LV. “With Manny’s following in Asia and Ricky’s support in Europe,” he says, “you could say Las Vegas is the center of everything.”

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Categorized as Boxing