Nietes Another Possible World Champion?

Donnie "Ahas" Nietes proved to be as deadly as his name suggested.

Unleashing a right hook that knocked Mexican Armando Vasquez out of his senses in the very first round, Nietes proved to be a more than capable junior flyweight.

Nietes now aims to challenge the winner of the WBO interim junior flyweight bout between Jesus Geles and Ramon Garcia Hirales.

More on this story, here.

Pinoy Cue Artists Log Wins In Philippine Open!

Lee Van Corteza was sizzling. So were Antonio Lining, Jundel Mazon and Renemar David.

These three led the Filipino onslaught as they captured their second victories in as many games int eh Philippine 10-Ball open.

On the other hand, Ronnie "The Volcano" Alcano was not as lucky, falling to Yong Hang of Korea, 9-7. Alcano promised to perform better in the next few games as he is one loss away from elimination.

More of this story, here.

The Truth Is Back!

Brandon "The Truth" Vera must be feeling like Lazarus today. After all, his seemingly dead UFC career has just been revived.


This interesting turn of events came about after Vera's last opponent and conqueror, Thiago Silva, admitted to using steroids prior to their bout.


Silva claimed that he had to take steroids for three injured discs on his back. He then submitted a fake urine sample to the Nevada State Athletic Competition which suspended Silva's license for a year.


Vera's loss to Silva was his third straight, which led the UFC to dropping him due to a bad record.


More on this story, here. 

Are The Bulls The Best In The East?

If today's game is any indication, then the answer is yes.

Derrick Rose scored 30 points in leading the Bulls to a 97-81 victory over the Boston Celtics and an almost sure grip on the number one seed in the East.

With 4 more games left, the Bulls are 4 games up on both Miami and Boston. While the Heat have virtually no shot at the top seed, the Celtics retain a mathematical chance, albeit an unlikely one.

Bulls Unveil Pippen Bust!

Gary Dineen/Getty Images

Yes, he's got one too, just like Mike.

The Chicago Bulls unveiled a bronze statue of NBA Hall Of Famer Scottie Pippen at halftime of the Bulls' game against the Celtics.

The bust will be installed in the arena concourse.

More on this story, here.


Great Scottie Pippen article from Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie here.

Roach Counters Mosley Prediction With His Own KO Prediction!

No chance at all.
That is how Freddie Roach sees the chances of Shane Mosley winning over Manny Pacquiao.

In an interview with an online boxing site, Roach opined that despite Mosley being experienced, he still has no chance against the fighting congressman from Saranggani and might last only up to the 6th or 7th round.

Filipino Contingent Making Waves In 10-Ball Open!

Dennis Orcullo. Ronnie Alcano. Antonio Lining. Lee Van Corteza. Marlon Manalo. Jundel Mazon. Renemar David. Jericho Banares. Oliver Medenilla.

All Pinoys and all in the winners bracket of the Philippine 10-Ball Open Championships.

The world ranked #3 Orcullo suffered from some tense moments as he fell behind 3-7 before defeating Demostenes Pulpul 9-7 through some spectacular shotmaking. Alcano, on the other hand, had no problems in disposing of Desmond Go Chin Teck from Sinagpore, 9-4.

Adamson Lady Falcons Repulse USLS Lady Stingers!

The Adamson Lady Falcons opened their title defense bid with a bang as they beat the USLS Lady Stigers in straight sets, 25-21-25-15, 25-22.

The Lady Falcons groped for form early in the first set, allowing the Bacolod-based spikers to take the lead but regained their composure and closed out the first set with 5 straight points.

They then dominated the second set before the Lady Stingers made the third set more interesting by leading again. The Lady Falcons had to kick it up a notch to log a come-from-behind victory. Angela Benting, a native of Negros Occidental, led Adamson with 16 points, highlighted by 4 service aces.

The USLS Lady Stingers were once again led by Patty Orendain, who scored just 9 points after scoring 22 points against St. Benilde in their last game.

More on this story, here.

Shane Mosley Vows To Knock Out Manny Pacquiao!

For a man whom everyone thinks stands no chance against his opponent, Shane Mosley seems pretty confident.

Confident enough to predict that he will actually knock Manny Pacquiao out in their Las Vegas bout on May 7.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to knock him out,” Mosley said. “I don’t know what round it’s going to be in. But it will come in the first round that I can catch him squarely on the chin.”

Lebron Acquires Stake in Liverpool FC!

He's a basketball superstar. A global icon. A marketing phenomenon. Now he's also a football club owner.

LeBron James acquired a minority stake in the Liverpool soccer club upon entering into a partnership with the Fenway Sports Group (FSG).

Top Six Pinoy Boxers To Gun For Olympic Berths!

The hunt for the elusive Olympic gold starts anew.

The six best Filipino boxers will be sent to Baku, Azerbaijan to vie for Olympic tickets at the AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe) World Championships set on Sept. 22-Oct. 10.

The  top 10 finishers in eight of the lighter categories and the top six in the heavyweight and superheavyweight divisions will make it to the main event in London, England.

Height Is Might...Sometimes! (Shawn Bradley Edition)

But not when you're Shawn Bradley.

In fairness to him, a lot of times, he gets dunked on because he's covering for a teammate who lost his man. So we should give Bradley props for trying to play defense, despite the fact that his teammates let his down already.

Still, schadenfreude dictates that it's funny whenever anyone dunks on a 7'6" player.

Patrombon Starts Life As A Pro Player.

The Philippines shining star from the junior tennis circuit has finally moved up to the pros.

Jeson Patrombon will play his first match on the ATP Tour in the India Futures event, slate on April 11.

His #10 ranking in the junior ITF tour plus 3 runner up finishes in the last 3 months earned him a wildcard ticket in the main draw of the Indian tournament as well as wildcard tickets to the qualifying rounds of the next 2 legs of the same tournament.

More on this story, here.

Lady Stingers Win Over CSB!

When it comes to volleyball, nobody does it better than the Ilonggos.

The  Lady Stingers of the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod repulsed the spikers from the College of St. Benilde in an exciting two-hour match, completing a come-from-behind win with the score of 25-21, 25-27, 18-25, 25-17, 15-11 in the first conference of the Shakey's V-League.

PBA Ready To Loan Five Players To Gilas!

In math, 5 is always more than 3. Is the same true for basketball?

We'll soon find out as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has made a commitment to loan a maximum of five players to the Smart Gilas National Team.

Being eyed to reinforce the national team are two Toroman favorites-Asi Taulava and Kelly Williams. Others being considered include James Yap, Ranidel de Ocampo, Ryan Reyes and Jimmy Alapag.

And This Is Why Chris Mullin Is In The Hall Of Fame!

Not bad, Chris Mullin. Not bad at all.

No, Actually, This Is Why Dennis Rodman Is A HOF-er!

And Karl Malone too! So much fun!

This Is Why Dennis Rodman Is In The Hall Of Fame!

Dennis Rodman, Chris Mullin, Tex Winter Make It To Hall Of Fame!

One was a rebounding machine and defensive menace who once wore a wedding dress so he couls marry himself.
The other one is a crewcut straightshooter who neither looks athletic nor competitive.
And a third one is old. Really, really old.
But they are all going to the NBA Hall of Fame for their immeasurable contributions to basketball.

Dennis "The Worm" Rodman, Chris Mullin and Tex Winters are but three of the ten people who will comprise the Hall of Fame (HOF) Class of 2011.

Three other prominent former NBA players join this HOF class, namely Artis Gilmore, Tom "Satch" Sanders and Arvydas Sabonis.

Other inductees include coaches Herb Magee and Tara Vandermeer. Also joining them are Olympic gold medalist Teresa Edwards and Harlem Globetrotter Reese "Goose" Tatum.

Congratulations!

More of this story, here.

Romanian To Train PHL Gymnasts!

Could the next Nadia Comaneci be a Pinay? Maybe not but we can, at the very least, try to find the next Bea Lucero.

The Philippine Sports Commission (PS C) has granted the request of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) to hire a foreign coach in the person of Luminta Eftemiu of Romania. Eftemiu will train and prepare the national gymnasts in the next eight months for the 26th Southeast Asian Games slated this November in Palembang and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Another Guirado For The Azkals?

In the win-or-die match against Bangaldesh, the Azkals discovered a bright new shining star in attacking midfielder Angel Guirado. Soon, we may be featuring not one but two Guirados.

The Azkals have targeted Juan Luis Guirado, a midfielder who plays for Lermeno of Burgos in Spain's Division III, as a player who can potentially increase the Azkals chances of moving up in the World Cup qualifiers.
 

Holy Crap, Jacob Tucker!

Here's Jacob Tucker's audition video (which he submitted so he can get a slot in the NCAA Dunk Championships)

There are several dunks there that are simply jaw-dropping.


Holy crap!

There's A New Dunker In Town!

He's 5'10". He's a point guard. And he just won the NCAA Dunk Contest.

Jacob Tucker plays for Division III Illinois College. But he can proudly say he's beaten all the big boys from the big college programs with his big leaping ability.

Who Needs Carmelo Anthony?

Not these Nuggets, especially after they outlasted the defending champion LA Lakers, 95-90 at the Staples Center.

The Nuggets had 4 players in double figure scoring, something they rarely had when 'Melo was still in Denver. Kenyon Martin had 18points and 12 rebounds, Danilo "The Cock" Gallinari had a Melo-esque 22points and 7 rebounds, Nene had 12 points and 7 rebounds and Raymond Felton had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

It's Butler Vs. UConn!!!

It's a Finals match between the establishment and the upstart.

THE ESTABLISHMENT
The University of Connecticut has a great basketball pedigree, but this season wasn't supposed to last this long. The young Huskies finished their Big East season at .500 and they were a young team hoping to learn how to win on the job. But when the chips were down against mighty Kentucky, the Huskies relied on Kemba Walker to lead them to the championship game. Walker scored 18points, grabbed 6 renounds and gave out 7 assists to help UConn hack out a 56-55 win.

No Free Tickets For Azkals Vs Brave Reds!

When the Azkals played Mongolia's Blue Wolves in Bacolod, tickets to the game were free and everyone plus their grandma came to watch.

No such thing this time around.

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta announced yesterday that they will charge entrance fees for every spectator, as the PFF needs money to stage the match.

Gerald Anderson Will Not Play In The D-League...For Now.

The young actor is scheduled to go on a 2 week promotional tour in the United States. He will be unable to practice with the NLEX Road Warriors, the team whose practices he has been attending lately.

NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez appreciated Anderson's interest in joining the team and did not close the door on the actor's aspirations, even with his absence in the next few days.

My take is, based on the youtube videos of Anderson's games, he is in no way good enough or talented enough to make it to the D-League. Most of the players at his position have the basics down pat, have played against tremendous competition, have honed their skills over the past 10 or more years. My advice is for Anderson to stick to acting and playing in celebrity leagues.

More of the story here.

Shane Mosley Expects To Shock The World!

For a boxer whom no one thinks has a chance, Shane "Sugar" Mosley seems very confident about his chances against Manny Pacquiao.

Mosley is banking on Manny Pacquiao reverting to his "banger" self once he tires of playing the role of the boxer in the first few rounds of their fight.

Mosley, a 6-1 underdog, says he is ready to shock the world by defeating Pacquiao this May.

More of this story, here.

Roberto Gomez Makes It To Main Draw Of Philippine Open!

Roberto Gomez,  the 2007 World Open Pool Championships runner up, logged a 9-2 win over Wan Chan of China to advance to the main draw of the Philippine Open Pool Championships.

Gomez dominated early by racing to a 5-0 lead before Wan Chan won the next two racks.

On the 11th rack, Chan sank the 6-ball on a miraculous shot but disaster struck later on when he missed the final ball on the corner. Gomez joins Ronnie Alcano and Dennis Orcullo in the main draw, along with a host of other Filipino players.

More of the story here.