Blog Outsourcing - September 3, 2012 edition

Blog Outsourcing - August 27, 2012 edition

Greetings!

Hello and I wish you all a Happy National Heroes Day in the Motherland.

In a sport that is regarded highly by its citizens, any achievement by someone or by a team garner attention in these parts. Sure, the opponent is currently composed of imports plying their trade in the continent, but we Filipinos take pride in beating the Americans in the process of winning a tournament, something we have not accomplished in 14 years. Look at the curated reaction from the Motherland.

It was a satisfying victory for a nation starving for success in a sport it dearly loves. And as such, they come home on a holiday that honors heroism, something they have in spades.

Blog Outsourcing - August 20, 2012 edition

Today is Eid'l Fitr, where we pay homage to our Islamic friends as they end their Ramadan fast. It is an occasion and celebration.

But also, something happened today. Tony Scott, the famed director, passed away. In tribute, this is an appropriate intro.


Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - July 16, 2012 edition

 

Hello and hope your Bastille Day weekend went well.

I managed to get a taste of witnessing my first-ever Mixed Martial Arts event last Saturday night. I have been always accustomed to watching them on the television, on a delayed basis, too. But, thanks to some people I know, I managed to get in and see for myself what exactly goes on in such an event, considering that this could also be ongoing in boxing, too.

The event I watched is PXC 31. Its main event featured someone named Crisanto Pitpitunge becoming the 2nd ever homegrown Filipino to become a PXC champion, issuing a knockout victory on the former titleholder Justin Cruz in the bantamweight division. Seeing what goes on behind the scenes and looking around at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig was an interesting thing to observe on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the UAAP opened it's 75th Season this weekend. Host National University, led by former Georgia Tech recruit Bobby Ray Parks, jr., issued a 90-55 beating over the University of the East. However, my alma mater also issued a 73-57 victory in their quest for a fifth straight crown in men's basketball. We face them this weekend.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - July 2, 2012 edition

Greetings and welcome to the latest edition of The Morning After.

It's already the second half of the 2012. Hope the reader has had a productive first half of 2012. It has been an interesting stretch for everyone and hope the remainder of the year makes it even better.

Meanwhile, the NBA season may have concluded on the court, the mantra of the swoosh remains true and legitimate. Basketball Never Stops.

The NCAA already has commenced action last week. The big buzz was naturally, how 5 rookies and a sophomore beat a veteran squad. The rival league UAAP already is making preparations for its campaign, which will begin on July 14. They even have a "Call Me Maybe" meme ready.



In the pros, the quest for a semifinal seat will need a playoff. One of the teams involved has Mario West as their reinforcement. And coming soon, a Legend gets his jersey retired.

The NBA Draft just ended, and Summer League beckons. Of course, there's the drama of free agency. And the quest for Olympic Gold. Being a basketball fan in the Motherland is just blissful.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - June 4, 2012

Good morning and Happy Monday!

It has been a long day, especially when you know you will be covering a FIFA international friendly tomorrow, especially when it featured back-to-back press conferences. (The other one involves Puma being the kit sponsor of the Philippine Senior National Football team, its first in the Asia-Pacific region)

I enjoy watching and covering football. I feel more pressure with it now, especially when you have committed yourself to writing more about it. At least you get the enjoyment of magic such like this at Jerryworld.

Here forth are the links to keep you busy after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - May 28, 2012 edition

Good Morning and Happy Memorial Day!

It is a special day for all my friends in the United States. A time to celebrate, remember and respect those who have worn the uniform with pride, dignity and honor. A day to express your admiration, love and devotion. Remember that when you enjoy the weekend.

Here forth are the links to keep you busy this holiday.

Blog Outsourcing - April 30, 2012 edition

Welcome to The Morning After.

2 Days of the NBA postseason and already big things are going on. From the injury woes and choke jobs and comebacks. It's an amazing thing to watch over and check out. That and with local basketball in the apex of the finals already (and controversy to boot), it is good times being a basketball fan in these parts.

Meanwhile, out of the ashes of New Jersey, a new era in basketball rises in Brooklyn. Remains to be seen if they can cash it on the court, but the image is neat. You can thank H.O.V.A. for that.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Possible NHL Advertising Campaign?

Sometimes, the best advertising ideas come from people you don't expect. Ever since the lockout that put a kibosh to an entire season, it has not been the same for the National Hockey League. They needed a spark of an idea, especially since tWWL has not been really THAT helpful in advertising the product. After all, they cast their lot with Comcast / NBC. Maybe an 11-yr old kid would do the trick.

(h/t Barry Petchesky a.k.a. @barryap1 of Deadspin for the tweet containing the photo)

Blog Outsourcing - April 2, 2012 edition

Greetings and Welcome to Holy Monday.

Yesterday, was Palm Sunday, and thus marks the beginning of Holy Week. For most Christian nations, it is an opportunity to think and reflect on things. In the Motherland, usually, people retreat to the provinces and take advantage and schedule vacations. Especially on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, where the country virtually shuts down on its own.

Just one game left in men's college basketball's main course, the NCAA Tournament. It has a palindromic feel, as it is UK vs KU. Yours truly finished an embarrassing last place. Shame on me. But look who is currently on top. 5 players finished with over 1000 points. There is currently a tie as of the moment with Mikey and Billybawl at the lead, but the former has the Wildcats and the latter has the Jayhawks. In fact, he is the only one of the pool who has Bill Self's team winning the tournament.

Here forth are the links after the jump:

Blog Outsourcing - March 26, 2012

It's another Manic Monday.

So, the Final Four is set. Congratulations to Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State. The establishment once again reigns in the NCAA, as a SEC, B1G, Big East and a Big 12 team asserted their claim. Kentucky is filled with boatloads of talent, which Cal will reload, and reload he will until the NBA pries him away. Standing in his way is a familiar nemesis in Rick Pitino and his Cardinals, the champions of the Big East. Then we have Bill Self against Thad Matta on the other bracket. Maybe we will see the drama we're normally accustomed to here. Who knows.

The women are in their Elite 8 (Baylor-Tenn vs Stanford-Duke, Notre Dame-Maryland vs UConn vs Kentucky) The NIT is also in their Final Four, too. But most of you don't care about that. What more the CBI and the CIT...  

Here forth are the links to make your morning catch-up worthwhile.

Blog Outsourcing - February 27, 2012 edition

Hello. Good Morning.

It feels odd that I actually managed to watch only a little of the All-Star Weekend. I missed out on the festivities... Am I disappointed? Maybe. Or maybe not.

You see, it has been a weekend habit of mine as of late to cover football here, doing tweetcasts on behalf of Soccer Central Philippines for the United Football League. That means, for the past few weeks has been no rest for the weary, so the upcoming break will be a great reprieve.

I actually missed the Saturday activities (which is on Sunday) due to previous commitments. Ditto for the game itself, which oddly enough, took place on Oscar night.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - February 13, 2012

 

Good Morning! Welcome to the new week ahead.

I was watching a portion of the Grammys earlier. Of course they did some minor tweaks in the aftermath of Whitney Houston passing. Just some minor thoughts.

I would have wanted to see Etta James and Don Cornelius on the In Memoriam vignette. Both were not on it. Nate Dogg was simplified into a group instead of individual like what they did to Amy Winehouse or Whitney. Sure thing they put a tribute for Etta in already with Raitt and Keys. But that is different. I will definitely be in the minority with regards to Chris Brown. Ok, so he beats up women, fine. He still has talent for music. Speaking of which...



CBreezy was doing his thing alongside David Guetta and Lil' Wayne, then the Foo Fighters did theirs, followed by this!



Adele was the worthy winner. Going 6/6 on your 2nd album in the Grammys is sweet. Another worthy winner? Jennifer Hudson. Tasked to sing the song originally sung by Dolly Parton, she killed it onstage. The simplistic preparation of the segment also was great. Fitting, too. Contrast that to what Nicki Minaj did. That seemed more appropriate for the MTV VMAs.

Oh, and Paul McCartney was awesome. So were his friends.

The complete winners can be found here.

Here forth are the links to make your morning after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - Feb 6 edition

It's the day after the Super Bowl.

That was some ball game last night. The Book of Eli comes through once again. Another fourth quarter comeback. The vaunted offense of New England scuttled to only 17 points. They did not make mistakes. They forced the Patriots to make theirs, which was just enough for them to win a Super Bowl in the fourth straight decade. Maybe this time Eli gets his due. Maybe this time Tom Coughlin gets to coach for as long as he wants without people asking him to be fired.

It's amazing that a Manning gets to lift the Lombardi at Indianapolis.

And M.I.A. did not give us the finger.

Here forth are the links to things you may have missed in the afterglow of the Super Bowl

Blog Outsourcing - January 30

Welcome to The Victory Formation.

Whilst most of you were asleep when the 2012 Australian Open Final took place, the most fascinating of a final happened. 5 hours and 53 minutes of serves, strokes, grunts, shouts between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The top two players in the world in a showdown that enthralled all who watched.

I was actually on the road when the conclusion happened, but was kept updated on Twitter, because everyone else on my timeline was talking about it. Still, it was almost 6 hours of competitive tennis. That is incredible. Can't doubt their endurance and skill.

Here forth are the links after the jump:

Blog Outsourcing - October 21, 2011 edition

 

Hello and welcome to the Halloween Edition of The Morning After.

As the norm, the 1st day of November is a holiday here in the Motherland with All Saints' Day, where families all across the islands go to the cemetery and visit their dearly departed loved ones. The government has been kind enough to declare today as a special holiday to accommodate the throngs of people who will going back to the provinces.

As for me, I am looking forward to that, although I will be reporting to work today and tomorrow. Hopefully all of those who had to deal with the nasty weather have been able to resolve things correctly. It has been sunny here, but with November coming, the northeast monsoon brings the cold Christmas atmosphere.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - 9/12 edition

Welcome to the latest edition of The Victory Formation.

Yesterday left an indelible mark on everyone. I hope you took the time to remember and reflect and appreciate what went on this day. I watched the different tributes and it was chillin' and stunning. I hope we all do not have to experience this ever again.

P.S. Wonder if someone can send this to SportsCenter.

Here forth are the links to welcome your morning after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - 8/22 edition

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of The Victory Formation.

The problem with futbol as of late has been that the clubs "buy" their way to secure success, but at the expense of their own fiscal stability. In other words, they eschew the bottom line for on-field success. There needs a balance between a club's financial viability vis-a-vis the quest for victory. The smart teams get that. But others, because of their wallets that are virtually endless, some owners use the power of the blank checkbook. But if you are a Russian oligarch or a relative of someone with petrodollars, hey, you're not THAT worried. That's why UEFA decided to put in a fairness scheme of their own.

Here forth are the links to make your week after the jump:

Blog Outsourcing - 7/11 edition

Welcome to today's edition of The Victory Formation.

Earlier this week, there was a retirement that was announced. It was that of Yao Ming , the Chinese center who played his entire NBA career with the Houston Rockets. Injuries plagued the former number one overall draft pick in 2002 all throughout his tenure, especially on his foot. He's just 30 years old, with a multitude of possible greatness ahead of him, but like Bill Walton, his feet denied him of it.

The frustrating thing about this is, that the Houston Rockets themselves cannot make a statement on this. The decision of Yao to retire had to be coursed through the NBA's offices in New York. Yup, this is a direct result of the NBA lockout. You see, the teams cannot say anything regarding players. In fact, these teams cannot even retweet or mention the players when they do use the social media. The NBA probably would not even give the Rockets a one-off for this, which is a damn shame. But then again, these are some bitter times, and as long as the lockout is on, this is the norm.

However, if you have NBA TV, you must be enjoying the trips down memory lane with all the stuff they're putting up.

On other Motherland news, Hey, it's collegiate basketball time again here at home. My alma mater is gearing up for its title defense, and boy, I am so giddy about it. In addition, some guy also complained about this particular billboard that is located near a main thoroughfare, and managed to successfully take it down.



Here is a much closer look.



Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing 7/4 edition

Welcome to the latest edition of The Victory Formation.

I want to wish every single American I know a happy Independence Day. Remember this line:


Just when you think about the Fourth of July, you think about fireworks and similar stuff like that. Then again, in Ohio, there is a new way to celebrate in the clubs. This comes too late for Plaxico Burress, as it would have better for him to have played with the Cleveland Browns or the Cincinnati Bengals instead of the Giants.