history in the making

*photo courtesy of zimbio.com

Roger Federer is the epitome of a fundamental tennis player. Garnering multiple Grand Slam titles under his belt and successfully defending his former World No.1 title for tennis history’s second longest streak (on men’s division), Federer looks as fierce as if he was a novice at the sport raring to show off his potential. But he is not. He has been a tennis pro for several years now and his old winning form shows no signs of waning, at least not during his recent semis match. After climbing down at the ATP ranking, the title “World No.2″ does not tick him off a tad bit anymore but it does not mean he is going to give up his quest for a title, say a Grand Slam title like the Australian Open, without giving his opponent a pounding.

Andy Roddick was another player who fell victim to Federer’s viciousness on the court. In their 18 meetings, Roddick fell short 16 times. If history played any significance during the semis match in this year’s Australian Open, then Roddick was probably aware that he was at a clear disadvantage.

If reaching the Australian Open finals did not offer enough motivation, Federer was also gunning for tennis world history. Apart from winning the title, Federer’s bid to win the title marked his 18th finals appearance at a Grand Slam tournament. Andy Roddick definitely was up against massive odds and the American was well aware of that fact. But it wasn’t enough as Federer breezed through the American tennis pro in 2-hour, 7-minutes of play in a 6-2 7-5 7-5 showing.

Classic player, that Federer. When interviewed after the match, and pointed out the possibility of making another history if he were to eventually go on to win the title, he said: “It’s just great to be playing here – it’s fun out there. If I can break records, too, then that’s great.” Federer could not hold back his grin.

The matchup between two Spanish players World No.1 Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco is still awaiting confirmation. Like this one, the match seemed lopsided. But if you’ve seen the semis match during 2008’s US Open featuring Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, then this isn’t the time to make any bold predictions.

Nonetheless, it would be a finals worth watching for.

Heartbroken over Seigle.

Danny Seigle winning MVP honors at 2006 Brunei Cup

It was a do-or-die contention. And the game analyst proved prophetic when he pointed out that they are approaching the dying seconds of the game as I saw my team figuratively die. Stupid coach. Where in the world could you find a coach who would risk burning an opponent’s entire 24-second shot clock with only 3 seconds left to try and gain a go-ahead basket on the other end? That was a stupid mistake, and I hope one that would haunt SMB’s coach (lest I cannot even mention his name) from here on out. I felt like scratching my head or pulling my hairs apart. Exaggerated but it felt more like it.

Then I turned my attention over to Seigle. It was nearly a decade ago when he came into the league with a lot of promise. There were several big names from the local basketball scene that came in with him, not to mention that the former PBL team Tanduay at that time decided to join the PBA. So there was a lot of fellow rookie competitors out there including Eric Menk and Sonny Alvarado.

There was no other player in basketball history, local or international, whose career as a cager I followed more closely than that of Seigle’s (Danny, that is). Following in his older brother Andy’s footsteps, he confirmed the many talks spreading around the basketball community that he was the better player. I’m sure, even Andy wouldn’t argue with that.

He introduced a fresh brand of basketball during his time that was becoming more prevalent today. You know, the “big man” who can carry the ball and shoot from the outside. He was filled with immense athleticism that even today, at aged 32, he still got some hops to him. He was one of those few big men during his time, standing 6′6″ or 6′7″ perhaps, who can dribble the ball like he was 5′11” and shoot from beyond the arch. For his level of play, he was given the moniker “Dynamite Danny” and was often referred to as the “Walking Mismatch” because none of his defenders could keep up with him. If he were guarded by a smaller defender, he would post them up. If he were guarded by a big man, he would shoot over them or leave them in the dust by driving to the basket.

I was probably the most petrified people around when he suffered a sprain in the National Team’s exhibition games versus Qatar (in 1998, I think) when he accidentally stepped on one of the opposing player’s foot and he had to be taken out of the national team. Sigh. Not to mention that he sat out a few of the games this conference in the PBA. So, you could probably imagine the feeling of delight I had when he was able to play through the wildcard series, to the quarterfinals, and into the semis. Only to lose last night.

As they always say, there’s always next conference. But I’m still keeping my fingers crossed on another individual recognition for Seigle. I still firmly believe that he is the most talented player in the league to have not won an MVP award…yet.

Mandela Moment

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th US President was over and done with. And yet, people cannot stop discussing about it. In fact, it set a new record in terms of the largest television audience, breaking Ronald Reagan’s inauguration record set way back in 1981. Days before and after the inauguration took place, it felt like overly hyped but it was for some good reasons.

Obama’s win on the US presidency was dubbed by many as US’ own version of “Mandela Moment”. Obama’s visions not just for his country but for the rest of the world going through global financial crisis is a breath of fresh air. Listening to excerpts of his inauguration speech the other day, I couldn’t help but cringe. Although idealistic to a certain extent, every word that came out of Obama’s mouth reiterated hope for everyone of us. Obama is just too articulate and clever that I figuratively hang on to every word he said.

Obama was the kind of leader America wanted (and needed) for a while. He isn’t the type to employ bully tactics, but rather embraced and encouraged us all to move forward. With a hazy future that awaits in 2009, especially in the economic aspects, having a leader that would make us believe (in ourselves and the leaders who run our respective countries) is something that we could all take comfort in.

“survival of the weakest”

It wasn’t how the producers have designed it to be, but a great percentage of Survivor winners fall under this mantra. Survival of the weakest.

Competition should be about pitting tough players against each other instead of taking out the so-called threats early on in the game, leaving the “weaker” players to battle it out amongst themselves. This is how most of the seasons in Survivor have been played out, and I tell you, it isn’t exciting to watch strong players go out one at a time, leaving the weaklings rejoice in their victory.

Hopefully, Survivor: Tocantins (click here for the official cast) will be a totally different tale. As what one castaway said during the initial interviews, he promises to take the strong competitors with him and fight it off to the end, sort of your monumental “may the best (wo)man win” scenario. Let’s hope on that.

Jeff Probst, host of the reality TV series, promises Survivor: Toncantins will be a lot different from Gabon. Now that the cast has been officially revealed, it’s time to focus on first impressions. To be quite honest though, this is not the most exciting batch of castaways I have seen from 18 seasons past. But, who knows? Even Probst himself insist that impressions are a huge part of this game, with emphasis on this upcoming season. This is also reverberated by the contestants themselves who have their own individual assessments and impressions on their tribemates while also keeping those judgments to themselves as to the possibility of being deceived by that very impression.

Spencer Duhm, at 19 is the youngest Survivor castaway ever, and he had to give up an entire semester just to have the chance to compete. With all optimism, Spencer hopes to make Survivor history by being the youngest winner ever after Bob Crowley made such feat in Survivor: Gabon, only the opposite – being the oldest Survivor winner ever.

“I believe I am the youngest Survivor to ever be a part of this show. So I’m going to be the answer to a trivia question, pretty soon,” says Spencer Duhm

To keep things interactive, I need to gather information from my readers based on their own assessments as to how this season will spell out.

As early as now, this is all a wait-and-see matter.

sibling rivalry?

dreadlocked Jason.

He might not have the most powerful vocals out of the season 7 batch of American Idol wannabes, but he managed to swoon as many audiences (and voters) as needed to get him to the top 4. Dreadlocks? Soulful voice? The good looks? Dreamy eyes? Yes. I know you know who I’m talking about. Jason Castro might have missed a few notes along the way but he did captivate fans with his endearing performances and irresistible charm that goes whenever he steps into the center stage. And he kept that smile on even when he received a few reprimand during his not-so-good performances. He was with a talented bunch but Jason stood his ground.

As American Idol returns with yet another season and lots of surprises, we though it’s the last we’ve seen of the Castro’s on American Idol. However, the musically inclined family is back with another equally talented brood, in the form of Michael Castro. Watching the auditions with my family, my mom pointed out as Michael was being interviewed before he steps into the audition room: “He’s the more good looking one.”

Being the loyal Jason fan that I am, I chided in Jason’s defense: “Jason’s got the soulful voice and eyes.” Just when I was about to launch a series of defense for Jason, Michael started singing his audition piece, a Gavin de Graw song I was not familiar with. If Michael’s claims were true at all, knowing that he begun singing only 20 days before the auditions, then you know there’s a natural talent there. He is one of the greatest finds of this season and even the judges were impressed that they couldn’t hide how pleased they were with his performance. I had to admit, he might actually do better than Jason when he’s already this good at this stage of the competition. He’s got more spunk, more attitude, more confidence, as compared to Jason’s shy demeanor.

faux-hawk, junior Michael Castro.

But no, Michael isn’t going to ride the coattails of his older brother’s success. In fact, he brings a fresh new style into the table that I might find myself watching more American Idol this season.

Survivor 18 spoiler alert

Survivor: Tocantins. That will be the new name for the 18th and most recent installment of the hit reality TV series by CBS.

If you’ve been following this blog, then you’re probably aware that this isn’t my first post on the show. In fact, I have dedicated numerous posts in the past detailing the events on the show. As opposed to the past few months, it looks like SurvivorFever.net has got a more thorough and specific list of information on tribe names and castaways. The red buff tribe is called Timbira, and the purple tribe is Jalapao.

There is an interesting mix of personalities, although mostly fall under typical categories. With the new season set to premiere on the 12th of February, this would be the perfect time to assess early favorites and glean over their individual strategies going into the game. While these strategies is bound to change once they finally get the game started, it should provide as an opportunity to see what these castaways have got to offer. I’ve included some interesting ones here.

Of course, Survivor always has this guy who claims to have the outdoor skills and survival expertise. However, none of them really do manage to last. But James Thomas hopes it would be a different tale for him, as he claims that “deer, turkey, wild hog, coyote-everything you’re allowed to hunt in Alabama I’ve hunted…I’m a country boy.” Let’s see how it fairs with his tribemates.

Then there’s those cunning young ones who think they’re too smart for the game. Take a college sophomore like Spencer Duhm (yes, that’s his family name, no puns intended) whose strategy is “you have to assume they’re going to screw you before you screw them over.“

Caroline Eastwood, meanwhile is just plain strange. When asked what preparation she did for the show, she nonchalantly replied: “I got lasered from head to toe…Because I’m ethnic in the hairiest sense of the word. And I did not want to scare people with my overgrown armpits.“

To cap off this list, there are also some players who came into this game only for one thing – the million dollars. And Tyson Apostol from Utah isn’t losing focus of that. “$1 million in two months isn’t a bad paycheck.“

Admittedly, Survivor: Gabon was a tough act to follow. Survivor: Tocantins better live up to the challenge!

*note: post was created via WordPress’ Quickpress tool.

gastronomic delights

I’ve always had a penchant for Italian cooking. And if only I had better skills in the kitchen, I’d probably spend most of my time whipping up these delicious Italian recipes myself at home. But since mine’s an unfortunate case, it is a good thing that there are a few restaurants here in Davao City that serve up quite delectable and authentic Italian dishes for an Italian food tripper like me to enjoy.

While I do have a wide array of food preference, Italian cuisine has been on top of my list. I could probably eat them in a week before I grow sick of them. lol But I was dead serious about trying out some of those recipes when I see Giada de Laurentiis prepare them on her “Everyday Italian” show on Food Network that I just had to kick my butt out of the couch and go somewhere I can have my fill on.From what I’ve tried so far, there are two Italian restaurants that I would recommend to try if you’re from, or in, Davao.

First, Picobello is one of the first Italian restaurants in Davao City. Located at the 5th floor of Gaisano South Citimall, it serves up a cozy area where you can delight in your Italian food cravings. One of the best aspects about their menu is that they offer a lot of choices in pizza, antipasta, pasta dishes, and the main course. Their classic lasagna was very rich in fresh tomato sauce, while their serving of Mozarella & Pepperoni pizza was quite humongous. When my boyfriend and I ordered these two off the menu, we thought it was going to be a heavy snack but as it turns out, we had trouble finishing the entire meal – me being the first one to say, “I’m done.”

me enjoying a serving of tiramisu @ Picobello

I also tried tiramisu for dessert, costing around P95. And I tell you, it was the best way to end my Italian meal. It has that rich bittersweet taste that I like and I think I shared none of that to Ed, poor him. (sorry, no photo for the dishes. i was too caught up with the food that I completely forgot to take some. )

Next up, Salutti. I never really found out about this restaurant until Tiara, a former colleague at UP and fellow Italian food fanatic, shared it to me.

And so one day after work, I told Ed to try it out for ourselves. It is located in Habana Compound in Rizal St., if you are unfamiliar with Salutti. It has a very homey ambiance, plus you have the option to dine al fresco. But we opted to dine inside since the restaurants’ white walls were both sophisticated and relaxing.

Ed chose to order Asian Beef Panini and I opted for Fettuccine Alfredo with Garlic Sauce and Shiitake Mushrooms. (this one I got the photos, but will have to wait once I’ve uploaded them ). Again, my stomach was unable to finish the entire plate of my pasta and so I had to switch plates with Ed. I tried a little of the Asian Beef Panini, and god was it good! He chose the mango sauce for the salad that came along with his order and it really blended quite well with the crunchy lettuce and all the other veggies that was in there. Plus, service was good. By good, I mean better than that of Picobello’s.

Asian Beef Panini

But if these restaurants were to be rated only for their food, then both are definite winners. If you haven’t tried any of these, then make sure you do one of these days. Happy eating!

Joker rules the Golden Globe

This year’s Golden Globes has just concluded. Despite much buzz about the early favorites like Brad Pitt’s film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, and “Frost/Nixon”, each earning a total of 5 nominations, “Slumdog Millionaire” was the shock of the night after bagging best screenplay and musical score award and leaving those top nominees empty-handed by the end of the night.

However, the biggest winner for this year’s Golden Globe was the late Heath Ledger. After nearly a year since his death, he earned a supporting actor Golden Globe award for his diabolical depiction of the Joker in the blockbuster movie, The Dark Knight. This made the prospects of him earning a post-humous Oscar award that much closer, an achievement that only Peter Finch has previously been able to do, and that has been over 30 years since (1976, to be exact).

Accepting the award on Ledger’s behalf was the film director, Christopher Nolan. Says Nolan, “All of us who worked with Heath on ‘The Dark Knight’ accept with an awful mixture of sadness and incredible pride…After Heath passed, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema.”

Like the performer that he is, Heath Ledger finally took his final bow.

“Heath’s Joker has no grey areas – he’s all rampaging id. He creates a Joker for the ages.”

- Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers

For complete details on the Golden Globe winners, check out here.

UP Quotes

I was fighting the urge to post these in fear of earning criticism from the readers of this blog, if any. But what the hell, it’s my blog and just took the liberty to proceed…

When I visited Amor’s blog, I saw her post a quotable quote from UP Professors. Finding it quite amusing, I went on to visit the site she has linked on her page. Thus, I have decided to compile various quotes from various UP professors that in one way or another I found funny or relatable. Some might find these quotes obscene; others might find it sarcastic, but for those belonging to the UP community, it is something that we could all laugh together at.

*”The aim of policy is to invoke action! Because action speaks louder than words! You do not just say I love you. You say: If you love me, enter me!” -Dr. Alfonso Pacquing

*”Class, next week na lang yung result sa exam niyo. I am having a hard time checking it. I will seek first the divine guidance on what to do about it. Class, don’t worry about your grade. Let me worry about it.” – Sir de Jesus (Envi Sci1)

*”Ma’am: Many people believe that we, psychology graduates can read minds… (silence)

Ma’am: Actually, we can.

Class: Weh… sample.

Ma’am: Right now, you think that I’m bluffing. – Ms. Billedo (Psych)

*”Last sem was the first time that I gave a grade of 5 and it felt GOOD!!!” – Prof. Goldie (Comm3)

*”Try everything once except incest.” – Sir Eliserio (CW)

*”I do not know many. I know enough just to teach my classes.” – Dr. David

*”Running for summa ka? Mapapagod ka lang.” – Unknown

*”Domestication of the human male is one of the greatest achievement of the human race.” – Dr. David

*”Birds of the same feather FLOCK together…don’t forget the L.” – SocSci1 Prof

*”Do not memorize! Analyze!” – Dr. Nic, advising her students never to memorize reaction mechanisms

*”Oh, this is good. It’s poetic because it’s perfectly stupid.” – Prof. Ricky de Ungria, UP Mindanao former chancellor

*”It’s okay to smoke inside my class. As long as you don’t breathe it out.” – Dr. Obsioma, BioDiversity Class, UP Mindanao

update on the sporting world

This is rather late for the first post of this new year. But hey, a person’s got some work to do. Still, it’s better late than never. I was just trying to screen out my ideas in search of finding the best subject to discuss on this blog. Something that would kick off my blogging year right. Too much for my obsessive-compulsive behavior, it’s actually an update on the latest sporting events (for those who are yet unaware that I DO have a sporting side to me).

I’ve been out of the loops on the NBA for a while, so NBA fans better look someplace else. I did manage to catch up on the Celtics’ loss to the Cavs last Saturday though, Friday night in Cleveland. Looks like the Celtics tough winning form from last season’s championship crew is not so evident this time around. And with the Cavs and Magic hot on its heels, they better get back to the drawing board. I am keeping my eyes peeled on local basketball league this time, so NBA better had to wait.

Another major update is the upcoming Australian Open. If you did not know, this is the first of four grand slam tournaments and it will unveil exactly a week from now, January 19th. Melbourne is the hottest place to be in Australia during this time of the year. Let’s see if Novak Djokovic will be able to successfully defend his title from last year’s tournament or if Roger Federer, 3-time Aussie Open champ before Djokovic snatched it from him last year, will rise to the challenge.

Jayjay Helterbrand slicing through the defense of SMB's Danny Seigle (left) and Marc Pingris (right).

Last, but definitely not least, on my list is the recent events on the PBA. Last night’s matchup between sister teams Ginebra Gin Kings and San Miguel Beermen were pitted to be a major on-court battle and it certainly was! Racela’s early ejection saw the SMB squad’s fate turn from bad to worse, trailing by as much as 22 points at some time during the game. But with a deep bench and a talent-laden lineup, who says my Beermen are going to back out? Several players contributed but Hontiveros was the biggest contributor to that epic comeback. Lineup-wise, it was supposed to be a lopsided match but Ginebra surely did give SMB a run for their money. Glad it was over and on to TNT for Wednesday. The other end of the semis match pits Sta.Lucia against Alaska. I can’t wait!