Blog Outsourcing - October 15, 2012 edition

Hello.

We all know about Felix Baumgartner. We saw what he did. It surely was crazy. It was unprecedented. It takes balls to do that. It also means that nothing is impossible, to borrow a tagline from another brand. It means that the human spirit remains indomitable. May it inspire us the way previously unheard of achievements inspired the previous generations.



Here forth are the brief links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - September 17, 2012 edition

The alma mater just finished its regular season with a win and a 12-2 record, sealing the 1st spot after 14 games.

It was a solid one, too.

 

Now we wait for our Final Four opponent.

Here forth is the Storify after the jump.

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 - 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.

PXC 31 this Saturday

Mixed martial arts fans in the Philippines will once again get to see some skirmishes again, as Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC) is to take place on July 14 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City with PXC 31. It begins at 7pm, while those unable to go can watch it on a slightly delayed basis on AkTV at 9pm that night.

Highlighting the MMA event is reigning PXC bantamweight champion Justin "The Shocker" Cruz from Guam attempting to defend his belt against Team Lakay's Crisanto "The Slugger Pitpitunge. This is a classic styles-makes-fights matchup, with a striker going up against a technical submission machine.

Crisanto earned the right for the 135-lb belt thanks to his last three wins on PXC events, two of which came via stoppage. If he wins against Justin, he would be the second Filipino to win a PXC belt, after Ale Cali pulled it off in PXC 29 last February.

From L to R: Richie Redman, Justin Cruz, Crisanto Pitpitunge, Tristan Arenal

PXC 31 is presented by San Mig Strong Ice and Sports 5, with special thanks to e-Games, Best Western F1 Hotel (where the fighters are staying and where the press conference for the fight was held), Rogin-E, Fitness First, Beer Below Zero, Premiere Condoms, FHM Philippines, FHM.com.ph, Healthway Agility Phil., Real Sports Radio and Loqal.ph

Tickets are available via SM Tickets and Ticketworld.

Ringside = PhP 2450, VIP = PhP 1850, Lower Box = PhP 650, Upper Box = PhP 350

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 - 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 4/23 edition

The weekend for me was pretty much dictated by this football match. A match between two titans, not just in Spain, but in the world. Even if it took place at 2 in the morning here in the Motherland, these kind of things are must-watch stuff, if you could do so, you must.

The Catalans have dominated this match-up the past few years, especially at the Nou Camp. So to see this victory (as deconstructed here) is really awesome and sweet. Now with four matches remaining, all the current La Liga leaders need are two wins and they secure the title.


HalaMadrid!

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 - March 12, 2012 edition

Another Monday greets us all today.

Congratulations to the 68 teams who made it to the Big Dance. First to the 31 Conference Tournament Winners, since they earned the automatic bid. Then to the other 37 institutions whom the NCAA Selection Committee has deemed to be deserving of the spot.

I am pretty sure we will have a myriad of posts upcoming to deconstruct the bracket, and other what nots, but there are other things to look at, as there is the NIT and the CBI and the CIT, too.

Good luck and may the bracket gods be nice to you.

Here are the links to make your day 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 - 1/16/12 edition

Greetings and welcome to the weekly Morning After, where someone tries to remind you what you could have missed.

The iconic boxer of his generation, and probably most of ours, Muhammad Ali, will be celebrating his 70th birthday this week. The heavyweight champion attended an advanced birthday party for him in his hometown in Louisville. That party also served as a fund raiser for the Ali Center, a educational and cultural complex, where it will be an illustration of his legacy both inside and outside of the squared circle.

He may have been ravaged by Parkinson's, but he is still an inspiration and a legend.

Here forth are the links after the jump and staring at another meme pic from me:

Blog Outsourcing - 11/14 edition

Hello and Welcome to the latest edition of The Morning After (which has somewhat morphed into some kind of a weekly thing).

So, there was a fight this Saturday / Sunday. A long awaited fight. Featuring two pound-for-pound greats. One from Mexico, the other, the Philippines. Much has been said before, during and after the match. Lot of debate whether Dinamita won, or should it be a draw, but one thing for sure, come Cinco de Mayo 2012, the Fighting Congressman will be facing someone.



Here forth are the links after the jump to stuff you may not necessarily have missed during the weekend.

Blog Outsourcing - 11/7 edition

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

Currently penning this piece a little early because I will be focused on watching the Philippines' Men's Under-23 football team play their Timor Leste counterparts at 5pm local time (4am in the turf of most of the TVF writers). We had just lost our first match in the Group Stage in the Southeast Asian Games and I personally would like to start off the new week right.

And I'd like to congratulate the Giants for their entertaining win. Just like last time, someone wearing 85 caught a pass that beat a team maintaining perfection. This is a day after Kirk Ferentz somehow saved his job. Sounds like a cranky gambler coming soon.

Oh and by the way, hopefully you guys have already adjusted your clocks.

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 10/24 edition

So, the legend of Tim Tebow continues to grow, eh. Tim pulls off another comeback against Miami. So what if it was Miami, the guy sure knows how to win games late. So what he was missing the receivers left and right, he made them when it counted late in the game. Another thing, he did not throw a pick in this match, given all those missed opportunities. We'll see if Tebow can pull off another win/s in the next few weeks, with Detroit, Oakland, Chiefs and the Jets on tap.

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Blog Outsourcing - 9/19 edition

Welcome to today's edition of The Victory Formation.

Well, well, well. Floyd Mayweather reminded us all that we need to PROTECT YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES. He also reminded us all that he is such a punkass idiot. Seen here below.


I can't wait for the time Manny knocks him into submission, although that will be wishful thinking as of the moment.

Here forth are the links to make your morning, after the jump: