Jalen Rose: "Walis, walis!"

BroomDoom: NBA analyst Jalen Rose brandishes a Filipino "Walis" on ESPN during the half time break of Game 4: GS Warriors-NO Pelicans alluding to the imminent Warriors' sweep of the Pelicans.

Foul Shot: "No. 3! Chauncey!"

 Technical Foul: Stephen A. Smith drops the ball and bungles NBA champ Mr. Big Shot's jersey number on ESPN's First Take - "No. 3! Chauncey!"

Ichiro shines in Yankees win over the Red Sox

Ichiro Suzuki doing what he does best by going on 3 of 4 at bats, belting two solo homers to help the New York Yankees outlast traditional nemesis Boston Red Sox 4-1 in New York.

The game featured three Japanese ballplayers -- Suzuki, his teammate pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who got the win against Josh Beckett, and pitcher Junichi Tazawa of the Red Sox.

Efren Reyes in His First Predator World Tournament of 14.1 !

 

by Melanie Marquez Domingo  

Queens, New York - Finally! The Magician will weave his magic for the very first time in a world competition for straight pool. 14.1 fans will be going crazy to see Efren showing his cue ball mastery in the ultimate game of patterns and control. Reyes can be seen at the Predator 72nd World Tournament starting on July 29th - August 3rd, 2012 at Carom Cafe in New York City. Fans and players alike can checkout www.Worldstraightpool.com for exclusive interviews with the pro stars, and all the latest and even archive news of the World Tournament. Dragon Promotions in conjunction with Dr. Michael Fedak is bringing the greatest straight pool players in the world to the greatest 14.1 event existing. 

"Efren is a legendary talent and he represents a nation that has risen to the very top of the pool world. His presence at the tournament raises the temperature of the competition, the enthusiasm of the fans, and enhances its stature as a true world class tournament," said Dr. Fedak, the World Tournament's main benefactor.

Efren Reyes will be representing the Philippines during the event on which has had close calls, but no Filipino Champion yet. Dennis Orcullo got a Bronze in 2008 while Francisco Bustamante finished with a Silver in 2009. Can Efren be the one who finally clinches it for his country?

Philippines pro sports analyst Bob Guerrero of Yahoo! Sports Philippines says: "I read he made a century run in a 14.1 tournament years ago. He could do it again. Straight pool may not be his game, but for sure he can figure it out and go deep, just like Dennis Orcullo and Django Bustamante have done before at the World Tournament. 14.1 is the easiest game and the hardest game rolled into one. But one thing is sure, Efren is still a top 10 favorite to win. He's so experienced that I'm certain he will be fine."

Efren has been captivating the minds of pool fans for decades and has been the people's champion around the world

Japan's top billiard site journalist Takao Takayama of www.onthehill.jp concurs:"Efren is an older player, so it is difficult for him to pot long distance shots. But in 14.1, with more balls on the table, he will play better. The math for Efren is this; 10-ball better than 9-ball, 8-ball better than 10-ball, and 14.1 better than 8ball. He won't leave himself many difficult shots. So of course he has a chance. If he wins, I will not be surprised at all." Japan will be having their national Japan 14.1 tournament this weekend and the top winner will likely attend the Predator World Tournament.

"It's really exciting to have Efren playing in our World Tournament for the first time. Everyone we have spoken to about it so far have been absolutely ecstatic that they get to watch the greatest player alive performing the art of straight pool," said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions. This is the seventh year in a row Dragon Promotions has produced the event in 14.1's one hundred year history.

The Official Equipment of the World Tournament is Olhausen Tables, Championship Cloth, Kamui Chalk, and Predator Cues.

Tickets will be sold at the door during the event. Tickets for the Straight Pool Hall of Fame Banquet can be bought in advance online at www.worldstraightpool.com

The complete listing of this year's roster of players will be on www.worldstraightpool.com soon, as well as quotes and tip from your favorite star players such as Johnny Archer, Thorsten Hohmann, Darren Appleton, Mika Immonen, John Schmidt, Efren Reyes, Allen Hopkins, Stephan Cohen, Charlie Williams and many, many more. The site also contains all the info on purchasing tickets for the event, The 14.1 Hall of Fame Banquet, and discounted hotel reservations at the Sheraton Hotel where the event takes place. During the event, daily updates will be added every few hours so fans can keep up with all the latest results and exciting stories. The site will also have the official brackets and tournament charts from the round robin through the end final single elimination charts.

Daily match times and complete tournament schedule will also be on the site.

Get the latest news by following http://www.facebook.com/Worldstraightpool and www.twitter.com/Dragonpromoter

Venue and Hotel: Host location: Carom Café – 3402 Linden Place – Flushing NY 11354 (718) 358-5467
Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel 135-20 39th Ave, Flushing New York 11354 (718)460-6666
Group Code: Dragon Promotions Group Rate $169 Rates good through  July 8th only.

The 2012 Predator World Tournament is proudly co-sponsored by Championship Cloth, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Aramith Balls, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Kamui Brand, and straight pool aficionados Dr.Louis Pannullo of NYC, Stu Mattana of NYC, Ralph Rubin of MD, and Tom Gleich of NC. Co-contributors Dr.James Heller and Charles Eames. For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

Full event info is now at www.Worldstraightpool.com and more info on www.dragonpromotions.com

DunKing: Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin, the young power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, is a superb athlete and a terrific dunker. He possesses the lift and the power to execute and make those monstrous dunks with ease. Even if you try to block and stop him, he will still soar and overpower you, and finally, dunk on you.

video credit: YouTube/NBA

photo credit: Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images

Bank Shot, Best Shot

When it comes to putting the ball through the hoop, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is one of the best in the NBA today.

What separates him from the rest, though, is the way he makes circus shots easy and effortless; He makes the impossible possible and the difficult beautiful.

NBA Grapevine: Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups involved in potential 3- way trade

There are rumors on the NBA grapevine that an imminent deal is on hand involving three parties- the Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons.

The Carmelo Anthony situation in Denver is becoming untenable day by day ever since the All Star forward indicated that he wants out of the Mile High City and the Nuggets are pushing hard to get as much value in return if they are to part with their prized player.

The deal is said to involve shipping the Nets' Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, and two first round picks to the Nuggets, who will then send Anthony and Billups to New Jersey in return.

The deal will also send disgruntled Pistons guard Rip Hamilton to the Nets in exchange for power- forward Troy Murphy and his $8 million expiring contract which will be shouldered by the Pistons.



Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America

The Number of the Beast

Roger Federer of Switzerland slays the ghost of his previous Grand Slam defeat to Robin Soderling of Sweden with an easy 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 winto move into the semifinals at the US Open against Novak Djokovic.

The Swede ended Federer's 23- major semifinals at the French Open earlier in the year.

FIBA: Serbia versus Greece

This is what happens when grown men act like children; A playground- like skirmish that ends up with nothing really serious except a lot of bruised egos and making a fool of themselves for all the world to see.

2010 Singapore YOG: US Virgin Islands vs Philippines

SBP' s 3-on-3 Basketball roster:
1. Ray Parks Jr.
2. Mike Tolomia
3. Jeron Teng
4. Michael Pate

Guinness records Mazon as its 10-ball World Series of Pool Champion

Jundel Mazon, the unheralded cue artist from the Philippines, ruled the Guinness World Series of Pool 10- ball Championship with a 10-5 win over Indonesian and crowd favorite Irsal Nasution in Jakarta, Indonesia to record his first ever tournament win.

Given up for dead in the finals when his opponent raced to a 5-1 lead in an alternate- break format, Mazon shocked his opponent and the partisan Indonesian crowd with deft safeties and precise pocketing and slowly but surely clawed back from the huge deficit to win 9 straight racks for the win.

Jundel Mazon, unlike his more illustrious compatriots like Ronnie Alcano, Lee Van Corteza and Dennis Orcullo, the 34- year old player from the Negros Billiard Stable was not expected win the tough tournament.

Mazon won the World Series 10- ball crown and the $40,000 pot money that goes with it, no mean feat for a player who has never won a major tournament even in his own country and has now found himself to be the king of pool overseas.

Aside from the Filipino big guns, the tournament also attracted the presence of several big names in the international billiard circuit like Darren Appleton of Great Britain, Ralph Souquet of Germany, and Shane Van Boening of the United States, just to name a few.

Hot & Cold: Ray Allen

After earning the record for the most three- pointers made in an NBA Finals game by hitting 8 from beyond the arc in hostile territory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Ray Allen, the Boston Celtics sharpshooter, found himself on the other side of the spectrum at home as he fired blanks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Allen, who owns one of the finest shooting strokes in basketball, did not find himself at home at the TD Garden, their home court in Boston, as he clanked his shots over and over again as he finished 0 out of 13 from the field, one miss shy of the NBA Finals worst shooting record and scored just two points in pivotal Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Thus, the Lakers regained their home court advantage they had lost in Game 2 and put the pressure on the Celtics to win the next two games at home and avoid themselves from digging a huge hole that they may not be able to recover from.

What a turn-around from the league’s best pure shooter after a night of accolades and fanfare, his world turned upside down in what many characterized as a shooter’s worst nightmare- he just could not buy a bucket.

And we can only commiserate with the soft- spoken Ray Allen on his Game 3 debacle on the hardwood but knowing him and his mentality that if given a slight opening in a Game 4, he will not hesitate to shoot.

Kobe's Best Shot of the Game

When the game is on the line, Kobe Bryant shines.

That's what happened earlier tonight when once again the Black Mamba showed Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat how dangerous and venomous he is in the dying seconds of the game.

Kobe Bryant is simply the best end- game operator in the NBA today.

Oh What a Circus!

Kobe Bryant once again showed us why he is currently considered as the best basketball player in the planet in his game against Oklahoma wherein he stole the thunder from Kevin Durant & Co. when he mesmerized the LA crowd with his brand of Showtime basketball.

The Black Mamba has proven time and time again that he is well above the current crop of players in the NBA. His complete arsenal of high- flying wonders, dazzling moves and unbelievable shot making is worthy of Tinseltown's adulation.

As teammate Lamar Odom would attest-

“You see him do things just fooling around with all kinds of shots in practice that you won’t normally see."

But you expect the impossible, because he’s not scared to take any shot from anywhere on the court.

So that’s why that’s the result. It’s never a bad shot to him. That’s his mentality. He’s not afraid to shoot it. He understands touch, getting the ball up and staying focused. His concentration is incredible.”

Here are the highlights of the said game wherein they shellacked Oklahoma en route to a 101- 85 rout highlighted by an unbelievable behind the backboard shot reminiscent of the shot that the great Larry Bird made about two decades earlier.

Black or White

Sammy Sosa is being battered left and right after he showed a “whiter” skin tone in the Latin Grammys several days ago which he attributed to a skin rejuvenation regimen. Of course, the former Chicago Cubs slugger is no stranger to controversy having been accused of using Steroids during his 1998 duel with another ‘roid warrior Mark McGwire to break Roger Maris’ single season homerun record of 61.

I think we should leave Mr. Sosa alone since he is now a private citizen even if we can have a case that at present he is obviously being blinded by the snow.

Stay Strong!

Yes sir! That was Kobe Bryant's message to the Filipino people in the aftermath of the devastation brought upon the Philippines by Typhoon Ondoy in his interview with Elie Seckbach of Fan House.

Reyes pockets trophy in Galveston One Pocket

Efren "Bata" Reyes edged Shannon Daulton 3-2 in Galveston to pocket the trophy and the $15,000 cash in the One Pocket event of the inaugural $1,000,000 Galveston World Classic in Texas.

He also pocketed $5,000 in a challenge match against his old rival Earl "the Pearl" Strickland wherein after a slow start he once again claimed the scalp of the temperamental American 15-11.

Surely, the old magic is back for the Magician as he now won his third major event in the last month or so.

Here's the third and deciding match of the One Pocket event in Galveston between Reyes and Shannon Daulton that I was able to watch live via InsidePOOLmag's UStream.



video credits: InsidePOOLMag

The Shootout at the SM Annex Corral

The Magician Efren “Bata” Reyes dug deep into his bag of tricks and Francisco “Django” Bustamante did not blink in their nerve- wracking showdown with the pair of Ralph Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann as the Filipinos won over their German counterparts in a classic shootout at The Annex of SM North Edsa Mall in Quezon City, the Philippines to win the 2009 PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool and the $60,000 prize.

I watched the finals on live stream and was on edge for the entire game as both teams battled for every shot. It was a nip and tuck affair with a lot of safety battles that would test one’s wit and patience. The Filipinos were down early and had to play catch up as they found themselves trailing 9-7 in the race to 11 championship match.

But Django and Bata rose to the occasion as they finally regained their bearings to the delight of the highly- partisan crowd and frustrated the Germans with their superb shot making and safeties to tie the match at 9-9 and never looked back on their way to the championship as the expected blitzkrieg from their fancied opponents never materialized.

Django was in his usual steady self as he sank one ‘hard’ shot after another when his turn at the table came up and when he’s in his element he’s virtually untouchable. On the other hand, Reyes’ skill at making nearly impossible shots possible was a joy to watch. He was the same old jolly magician all over again. I am glad that slowly but surely Bata is getting back into the groove.

It was only fitting that Reyes took the last 9 ball out for the championship win to announce his return in the winning circle on the world stage. He was out of luck the last couple of years in various tournaments that he participated in and was mostly under the radar because of varying reasons. But 2009 proves to be a fruitful year for him as he earlier won The Manny Villar Cup Kadayawan Leg in Davao two weeks ago.

The win for the dynamic duo earned them another record into billiards’ history book as the only two- time champion of the elite tournament having won the inaugurals in 2006.



video credits: rvsicuan21/ CS9
photo credits: Joey Mendoza/ Philstar

Portrait of Artest as a Filipino

Ron Artest, the NBA Bad Boy more famous for his rap sheet (the infamous Palace brawl with the Pistons, remember?) than his rapping ability and now suiting up for the LA Lakers this season recently visited a Filipino family and guess what happened?

Not only did he liked the food and that old Filipino hospitality but also experienced the Filipino people's favorite past time- Karaoke.

And He did his time on the microphone with gusto, with a titanic effort of Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On.

Here's what he said of his experience from his old Twitter account, 96TruwarrierQB-

"the dinner with angelica and annmelissa and her family was good. the filipino food was unreal.:) tomorrow i will be choosing another fan!!"11:55 PM Aug 28th from web

"Go to thugraider37 to see Ron Artest singing Celine Dion but rapping it wit his Filipino family:)" 10:34 PM Aug 31st from web

And here's his tweet at his new Twitter account ThugRaider37-

"Should I let yall see me singing karaoke wit my Filipino family?"3:53 PM Aug 31st from TwitterFon




video credits: annamelissa

Looking Back: Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson is 50 years old and dang, I am old. He-he.

My friends and I grew up watching the Showtime LA Lakers in Bicol. We watched in amazement as Magic weaved his magic on the court with his dribbling skills, his shooting ability and his passing wizardry. That’s why I became a Laker fan because of Magic. And of course, you can add Kareem, Worthy and the rest of the boys.

I remember their epic championship battles with the Boston Celtics in the 80s even if they were on a much delayed basis. You see, we live in a remote town in Bicol and cable TV was unheard of back then. Also GMA and RPN, the two TV stations in the province, did not have the NBA on their regular programming.

Good thing, there were some enterprising people from Manila who visited the town twice a month to deliver the games and other films to the local video center who in turn rented the tapes to us for 10 pesos a pop.

Those were the days. And they were damn good old days.