Streak Shooter

This is the Hilltop Mall which is located a few miles away from my home here in El Sobrante. I watched the news on KTVU Fox 2 which said that the mall was just purchased today. Me, my mom and my sister have gone to this mall a few times and I have seen for myself how few people are going to malls to shop because of the emergence of online shopping. Many stores are closed and in the Sears appliance store that we went to, the sales people gave us the runaround when we asked on how we can get a replacement for our refrigerator. I hope that once this mall is redeveloped and becomes a more modern place, I can get a chance to work there. Getting a job here in the US is so difficult because we live in an area where there is little traffic and public transportation. It has been hard for me to adjust to life here in California and now, I'm feeling homesick. But I have no choice because my mom had to work so hard to petition me here. Leaving behind my active life as a spor...

I came across an item in the sports website www.awfulannouncing.com where it was revealed that the popular sports network ESPN is set to downsize this year. Several on-cam talents are going to be displaced in all ESPN branches due reportedly to low earnings resulting from many viewers either switching to other sports networks like Fox Sports or watching live streaming through Facebook Live. ESPN started laying off employees in 2015 and this could affect the future of the network whose headquarters is in Bristol, Massachusetts with branches in New York and Los Angeles. Since last year, many ESPN talents have moved to other networks like Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd who are now with Fox Sports. Bayless is best remembered for his frequent verbal jousts with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's morning sports debate show First Take. Bayless has since topbilled Undisputed on Fox with his new partner, former NFL player Shannon Sharpe. Smith, on the other hand, has a new partner on F...

Mr. T (photo courtesy of ABC 7) WHEN I was in high school, one of my favorite TV shows was The A-Team starring the late George Peppard and Mr. T.  It was an action-adventure series that hit it big in the 80s and was aired on Tuesday nights on GMA 7 when the Kapuso Network was still airing foreign shows on primetime instead of locally-produced soap operas. Before The A-Team, Mr. T starred in the movie Rocky III as Sylvester Stallone's opponent, Clubber Lang. T's character was knocked out by Rocky in the ending. The A-Team was remade into a movie in 2010 where Mr. T's character was portrayed by UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson while Liam Neeson played Peppard's Hannibal Smith character. Unfortunately, that movie did so-so at the box-office and a sequel didn't push through. Incidentally, that A-Team movie also had Bradley Cooper in the cast. The A-Team is still aired on reruns on some US cable TV shows nightly and the show still rema...

After the All-Star break, action resumes today in the NBA regular season here in the United States. And as the teams return to the court, news regarding trades have been hugging the spotlight lately. During the break, a big-name star in DeMarcus Cousins found himself traded by the Sacramento Kings to the New Orleans Pelicans while other stars like Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George have found themselves involved in trade rumors as well. In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still at the top of the standings while the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors complete the top four where homecourt advantage awaits at the end of the season. Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Charlotte, New York, Atlanta, Detroit and Miami are battling it out for the remaining four slots. Over in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors are safely at the top primarily because of Kevin Durant's addition while San Antonio, Houston and...

One reason why NBA players are able to get jobs is the fact that it has put up a developmental league called simply as the D League where each of the teams gets its own affiliate team. Under D League rules, players can be called up anytime to sign at least a 10-day contract with any NBA squad if they do well with their respective D League teams. And if those players do extremely well, their contracts can be extended until the end of the regular season and all the way to the playoffs. One case is Yogi Ferrell, a shooting guard who signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks after toiling in the D League before initially signing a 10-day pact and getting extended because of his solid play. Next season, the NBA D League will now be known as the NBA G League after it signed a marketing deal with the popular sports drink Gatorade. Aside from this, more NBA teams will put up D League affiliate teams. In contrast, the Philippines' pro league, the PBA, also has it...

So many things are happening in the NBA during the All-Star break. The NBA trade deadline is just a few days away and after DeMarcus Cousins and Serge Ibaka were traded, more big names could find themselves playing for new teams once the smoke clears. Names like Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Paul George have been mentioned as possible trade bait. The Los Angeles Lakers just hired their legendary point guard Magic Johnson to become their president of basketball operations, virtually overhauling their front office. This is where the NBA trades are totally different from what happens in the PBA. During my experiences as a sportswriter for a tabloid back in Manila, I was a witness to so many trades in the PBA where lopsided deals and farm teams were the norm. And unlike in the NBA where teams can trade players anytime, in the PBA this is totally different. It is no secret that two corporations run the PBA -- the MVP and SMC groups -- so...

A big crowd graces the last NBA All-Star Game while last year's PBA All-Stars draws sparse attendance I watched the NBA All-Star Game on TV last Sunday and I can say that the NBA is miles ahead of its Philippine counterpart when it comes to putting up a good All-Star show. The NBA used the musical group The Roots to introduce both the East and West All-Stars while John Legend's halftime show was also well-received. The players didn't disappoint, like Anthony Davis, who scored 52 points while Kevin Durant's alley-oop pass to Russell Westbrook in the first quarter drew cheers from the crowd and from their West teammates. In the end, the West pulled off a 192-182 victory. Not as exciting as in past All-Star games, but the fans in New Orleans went home happy. ABS-CBN Sports also put up a very excellent coverage with the tandem of Boom Gonzales and TJ Manotoc teaming up for their seventh All-Star Game since their network took over the NBA free TV broad...