2018 MANILA ASIAN GAMES

Unofficial video presentation of 2018 Manila Asian Games

Unlike the supposed Manila Olympic Games bid, this one is actually doable if you believe the Philippine Olympic Committee official who said so. I think some people were spurred by the fact that two other Southeast Asian nations are bidding to stage the event - Singapore and Vietnam.

However, the 2014 Asian Games was given to Incheon, Korea so the 2014 Manila Asian Games is erroneous.

Manila hosted the 1954 Asian Games and the country won 14 Golds 14 Silvers 17 Bronzes - its best performance EVER. The Asian Games has more events than the Olympics by the way. By 2012, the Olympics will have 26 sports in its line-up while the Asian Games by 2010 will have 42 including uniquely Asian sports like Sepak Takraw, Kabaddi, Dragon Boat racing and others. Not to mention, China dominates these games and the games only attract few guests (fewer than the Olympics). It doesn't make financial sense for us

Most likely, this is just another fanciful thinking from some people but it's okay, nothing wrong with that. I hope it won't get pushed so some people could get rich. At the moment, I'm contented with hosting the Southeast Asian Games.

OLYMPICS IS ABOUT WINNING

Great champions always speak a language that sets them apart from the rest.

Late on Friday night when I spoke to Sir Steve Redgrave about this weekend's sporting bonanza and how Britain might fare, he made it clear that what matters to him was winning gold medals.

The total medals haul did not concern him, he would rate British performances on the basis of how many golds were won.

And I am beginning to think that the Chinese are learning that in competitive sport anything less than winning gold is just not good enough.

The Australian belief that all that matters is winning is well known.

I shall always cherish the put-down an Australian supporter gave to an Indian cricket fan just after the 2003 Cricket World Cup final in Johannesburg.

The Australians had smashed the Indians that day but the Indian supporter took consolation from the fact that India had finished as runners up.

The Australian supporter turned round and told the Indian with a contempt in his voice that I shall never forget, "Mate, you know what a runner up is? It means you are the first loser."

Now you may think this is the exact antitheses of the Olympic spirit. Surely it is all about competing , not winning?

Don't you believe it.

Olympic winners like Michael Phelps want to win come what may. I am not saying they will cheat to win, but they see victory as defining their Olympic moment. Just taking part does not count And, of course, that winning mentality is crucial to success.

At the highest level of sport the difference in ability between a gold medalist and a silver, or a bronze is very rarely that great. But a belief that victory is everything can often separate the good, even the very good, from the great.

In my experience Indians, who consistently under-achieve in sports, do not have such a belief. They often console themselves by taking comfort in a heroic defeat when a true champion would be railing against it and asking why was the defeat not turned into victory.

The British, too, have in the past tended to suffer from that; glorifying defeat rather then questioning it.

If I read the Chinese tears right then this country, which so admires America, is trying to acquire the American belief in winning.
And as if to demonstrate this, five days after her initial tears Du was again in tears but these were tears of joy as she won a women's 50m rifle 3 position gold.

Her earlier tears were, she said, a spur to her success

For Full Version

What do you think? Our athletes also suffer from this attitude which only breeds mediocrity. I don't agree wholeheartedly with the article I just want our athletes to stop wallowing in mediocrity, work hard and win. Please settle for international standards or world records not national ones. I believe our athletes can win esp. with the right attitude. Losing is NOT bad as long as one use it as a stepping stone towards future success. Unfortunately, most athletes here make so many excuses when losing instead of learning from it and become a much better athlete in the future.

The only Filipino athlete I know that has this very competitive attitude is Manny Pacquiao. He detests losing even in other games like chess. After losing to Erik Morales, Manny put his life back to order and corrected his deficiencies. As a result he won all his fights from then on and the same time improving his boxing skills. Now, he is the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

I also enjoy seeing Australians lose sometimes because they really take it hard like two weeks ago getting destroyed by New Zealand in the Tri-Nations.

MANILA OLYMPICS 2024 BID PRESENTATIONS

The following presentations are taken from supposed Manila bid for the 2024 Olympics. Please take your pick. They are not yet final. It is free to dream.

from Alvinjhet

from Kavs0118

from Prince537

Take your pick, ladies and gentlemen. As for me, I prefer mah city "where the grass is green and the girls are pretty'".

Next stop, the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity Olympics 2064 presented by the MILF Central Committee (in Mindanao not in Hugh Lefner's mansion). Mascot? Some bearded guy carrying AK47 with Olympic Rings circling around his head.

DEMOCRACY RULES!

No, I don't want to live in their UTOPIA.

It seems democracy in my country is being THREATENED again and again by allegations of corruption. I hope the democratic institutions could withstand another massive pressure from anarchist and basically people who want to put themselves in power regardless of ideological stance. I pray that our democracy would stand firm. Yes, democracy is imperfect but I prefer this. I don't want to be shackled. Our ancestors dreamed of a future where our country's people are FREE from OPPRESSION. Nothing is m0re oppressive than Communism. I prefer freedom - it is a God-given right. Democracy is the only form of governance that jibes with man's tendency to live free - other forms, despite what its cheerleaders are saying, are nothing compared to DEMOCRACY. DEMOCRACY RULES!!! I support the idea of Democracy and its institutions but not SPECIFIC persons or the more appropriate term characters.

Democracy makes it possible for me and other people to blog and express our thoughts without the fear of getting arrested and jailed. I want to live in a country where the government basically lives me alone as long as do everything lawfully.

CONGRATULATIONS CHICOSCI!

Rivermaya

I was busy last weekend and I forgot about the MTV Asia Awards but it is never too late (to apologize?) to congratulate Chicosci for winning Favorite Artist - Philippines. Chicosci burst out of the music scene years ago as a rap metal band then became an emo band last year I think (complete with make up and black lipstick for Miggy to me and my brother's huge surprise). But then again they describe their music as "Post Pop" others prefer to call them a "Chameleon" (listen to the song Rap Superstar to get what they mean). In fairness to the band, maybe they just don't want to get tied down to one type of music preferring to explore new types of melodic sounds.

Unfortunately the band wasn't able to strut their stuff at the award show since they weren't invited to perform. Priorities of course were given to REAL ASIAN BANDS such as Panic! at the Disco, Pussycat Dolls (one half-Filipino) and The Click Five! Other token performances from Asian talents were also showcased to prevent the impression that this awards show is just an extension of MTV VMAs and MTV Europe Award. It would have been great seeing another Filipino band to perform much like what Rivermaya did two years ago but it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully, Chicosci will use this win to further increase the band's awareness in Southeast Asia and follow Rivermaya's lead. Screw MTV.

The award was hosted by ACTOR/GHOST Jared Leto from the band 30 YEARS IN MARS (yes that's the original name for he looked like he's been there). Here he is:

Project East Asian Revolution

Asian music took centre-stage when the Project E.A.R (East Asian Revolution) gave their very first performance as a group at the MTV Asia Awards. Their debut consisted of a medley of songs performed in five different languages from the region (Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, English, Tagalog and Thai), fusing various genres of music. Made up of members from Ahli Fiqir (Singapore), Pop Shuvit (Malaysia), Saint Loco (Indonesia), Slapshock (Philippines), Silksounds (Thailand) and Thaitanium (Thailand), the super group broke down all geographical boundaries, providing audiences with the best sounds of Asia...for full report

(See? WHO the heck are the Institute of National Language and TBHON Quezon fooling?) Great sound Project E.A.R! Represent!

MEET GENO ESPINELI

courtesy of minorleaguebaseball.com

The Geno Espineli (left-handed reliever) - Filipino - will be pitching for the San Francisco Giants after getting a call-up...

The 25-year-old pitcher is 6-foot-4 and looks as though he should throw 95 mph. Actually, he throws 85 but is deceptive and relies on a changeup he learned by trying the grip he saw on the back of a baseball card when he was a kid. Obviously, it works. Espineli was 1-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 34 games for Fresno. Equally impressive were six walks against 43 strikeouts.

Espineli has had a whirlwind couple of weeks, first pitching for the victorious Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star Game, then being named to the Olympic team before getting his first big-league call. It is unclear whether he still will go to Beijing next month.

Espineli believes he is the first full-blooded Filipino to pitch in the majors. With a 1-2-3 inning Sunday, including a strikeout of his first hitter, Mike Cameron, he became the 12th Giant to make his major-league debut in 2008. Espineli also becomes one of four rookies in the seven-man bullpen. He also becomes the 15th home-grown player on the 25-man roster.

Source

Good luck to him! I know another Filipino who once played in the Majors - Benny Agbayani from Hawaii. I think he is now plying his trade in Japan.

This is such a great news esp. to a sports fan like me.

BEAUTY CONTESTS

and the winner is...

Don't get me wrong I love beauty contests esp. Miss Universe. Where else can you find the most beautiful women packed in one place? This is every guy's dream and ultra-feminists' worst nightmare. Pressure from feminists in Sweden forced Ms. Sweden to bolt out of the competition last year. Even this year no contestant from Sweden was entered. Man, so this is autocracy now! I would have preferred it if Ms. Sweden backed out in her own volition and not to some pressure. Ms. Sweden is good enough to decide for herself right? I hate imposition of ideas. It only creates resistance.

If I don't agree with feminist does that mean I favor "denigrating" women? Of course not, this is not a zero-sum game. I live in a household of tough women from the first to the third generation. There is no greater feminist than my sister. Let the woman decide what's good for her. Therefore in my thinking if Ms. Sweden wants to participate good for her. If she doesn't go good for her too as long as she decides on what she really wants. Forcing ideas on other people is MEDIEVAL ERA type thinking! It will be women who will decide what's good for them and I will support them.