Boomboom Bautista has to go through a lot of adversities trying to resurface his once colorful career after his devastating knockout loss to WBO champion Daniel Ponce Deleon. Golden boy and ALA promotions learn from that experience and are now protecting a price gem in AJ Banal. We learned how Fernando Vargas was never been the same after his loss to Light Middleweight champion Tito Trinidad.
Banal is a gifted and talented boxer but at 19 years old he still has a long way to go and pitting him against a veteran undefeated Uruguan by the name Caril Herrera might not be a good idea for Banal.
Caril Herrera the WBC International Latino champion nicknamed “El rato” or the rat has a record of 21 fights with 13 KOs and no defeats is a southpaw slugger who could very well spell danger against Banal. At 27 years old who is nearing his peak has never fought anyone outside Uruguay. He might be fighting in an unknown territory but he comes to fight and will give AJ the toughest test of his young career.
AJ Banal and Caril Herrera are both south paws but the main difference between the two are the 3 inch height advantage enjoyed by Banal. And since Banal has a good jab he can keep the Uruguan slugger at bay.
This fight will be a good match up and can be very well be interesting compared to the main attraction. Banal maybe still raw but I think the time has come for the litmus test to know how tough he is and if he could handle a good challenge fight.
Losing is part of every game and how you stand up after falling makes a big difference.
Both undefeated fighters will have the test of their lives but like they say someone’s O has got to go….

Have you ever been into a situation where in you wanted to soar high but no matter how much you set your foot up there, there is always something or someone there to drag you down…
Edwin Valero has just been granted a new lease in life as he was granted a boxing license on the state of Texas. We all remembered Valero as the boxing demon who pulverized his opponents and winning his entire match by knockouts. This is the time Valero will soar high and this time no ones gonna stop him from getting to the top.
After his boxing license was taken out from him because of a head injury he suffered on a motorcycle accident the state of Texas cleared Valero and the Venezuelan fighter will now have to prove his worth and clear the doubts as he was once leveled a hype fighter with basically unknown opponents with the exception of Vicente Mosquera.
A slugger with power in both hands Valero is now being groomed as the next big thing in the junior lightweight division as Pacquiao is moving up to the 135lb division. Boxing fanatics would love to see Valero match up with fellow undefeated Dominican Republic contender Joan Guzman or a battle against the best counter puncher in the industry Juan Manuel Marquez. Valero was once a decorated Amateur fighter left his good boxing skills in exchange for a power slugging puncher. Knocking almost all his opponents in round 1 Valero don’t waste time and runs at you like a wild train.
The new life Valero has is just a start of something big. A fight against a worthy opponent would give him redemption. Before he challenges Pacquiao he has to make a name for himself and dispatch all the opposition trying to get his no.1 spot against Pacquiao. Style wise he is a tailor made for Pacquiao moving forward and sometimes dropping his defenses trying to set up his power shots.
Valero may be a great boxer but as far as legacy he still has a long long way to go.

The Boston Celtics proved to be the team people expected. After winning a close battle against San Antonio the Celtics crushed Houston’s hope of winning no.22 and followed it up by winning against Dallas making them swept out the Texas triumvirate teams making them the untouchable team in the east as they cruised their way ahead of the pack.
Having said that the Los Angeles Lakers are slowly making waves in the west and with the unstable standings in the western conference were any team could be no.1 today and no.4 tomorrow the Lakers are moving up to the no.1 spot in consecutive weeks. They are the team to beat in the west. And with more games to come a healthy Laker team is tough to beat going on to the playoffs with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol slowly etching out in the lineup.
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers revive rivalry in the finals would be a good match up to see. I would love to watch Garnet against Gasol or Paul Pierce against Kobe Bryant. The Celtics is one of the best defensive team in the NBA and with the Lakers offense not to mention a deep bench it would be a tactical match between the two teams.
Boston swept out the Lakers this season but those games are played with either Gasol or Bynum injured.
Boston added veterans to boost the team’s quest for a coveted title. Sam Cassell and PJ Brown are good pickups and could hold their ground against young and athletic players. Defensive specialist Trevor Ariza was signed by the Lakers in a trade for Cook and Evans to help them guard against tall and athletic guards.
The rebirth of the Boston and Lakers rivalry is good for the game. This is the time Great players emerge (remember Magic and Larry Bird).
With the playoffs still coming I still think it’s everybody’s ballgame but I guess its not bad to have some wishful thinking anyways. But that will have to wait… Let’s just cross the bridge when we get there.

Manny Pacquiao is one of the most exciting and successful boxer of today. Having place second to Mayweather Manny became the only Asian to grab 3 belts in 3 different weight classes. Tagged by many as the Mexican Assasin Manny fought all the future hall of famer legends in boxing beating Barrera twice, Morales twice and winning the unfinished business against Marquez. In comparison with Gabriel “Flash” Elorde who wrested the WBC crown from Harold Gomes in a jam packed 20,000 cheering crowd in the newly open Araneta Colliseum knocking the visiting champion on the 7th round he became a household name of the junior lightweight division having 10 successful defenses on his name.
This June Pacquiao will once again make a new feat conquering the light weight division the division where Elorde fought twice against Carlos Ortiz and lost via Knockout.
5lbs in difference may not be that significant in our own daily weight checked but in boxing it means a lot. Pacquiao will be facing a slugger by the name of David Diaz. He may be an unknown commodity but his power will make a difference in the fight.
Diaz on his name is a good amateur boxer and could very well slug it out with Pacquiao.
Moving up in weight may not be a good idea for Manny or Moving up also widens up a more and lucrative options for Manny. We will never know and will soon find it out this June. I hope he follows Elorde’s Footsteps and hope he follows in a positive way. Onward to greatness…

Casamayor ended the streak of Katsidis as he won a hard earned battle against the tough former undefeated Australian WBO interim champion. We all remember both fighters having won contrasting bouts before their scheduled showdown. Casamayor won a questionable split decision against Jose Armando Sta.Cruz where in he was down on the first round and stayed to survive until the 12 rounds. Michael Katsidis won a unanimous decision against Czar Amonsot in a bloody encounter that left both fighters bloodied and with Czar an early retirement. Katsidis has the style fans love because of his die hard no fear bell to bell action. In their bout against Casamayor he was caught by a power shot in the first round that I thought he wouldn’t survive the onslaught. He was down twice but made it to the end of the round. In the later rounds he caught Casamayor some good body punches while pressing the action more. Casamayor was in clear hurt and made the ropes his ally as he struggled against Katsidis body shots. And while the tides are slowly turning on the 10th round Casamayor caught Katsidis a good counter left hook with the champion down on the canvass for the third time and was quickly followed up by a barrage of punches putting the former undefeated defenseless and a quick stoppage was made.

Pacquiao
The light weight division was once a stagnant and unknown division following the death of Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo moving up in weight. But the once dominated division of Juan “baby bull” Diaz, Katsidis and David Diaz is now dominated by aging veterans following a defeat from Nate Campbell and Casamayor respectively.
With Manny Pacquiao moving up and fighting David Diaz next we would see a rebirth of this once colorful division. A pack of 130lb fighters will follow Manny hoping to catch a mega Money fight against the Pinoy phenom. It would be a good matchup for Casamayor and Campbell then the winner will face the Pacquiao-Diaz fight.

This year would be a busy year for the lightweight division although we love to see Casamayor fights Pacquiao but that would have to wait after the Pacquiao-Marquez trilogy.

When I was invited with some of my friends into a socialite drinking session I was hesitant to go. I’m not used to be in those types of situations and I’d rather drink an ice cold of beer alone than being put in an uncomfortable situation. Oh well to cut the story short we agreed to drink it out the way we usually drink the “tagay” way. Anyways I was asked by one of my friend (who is gulping beer like there was a shortage of beer and San Miguel has gone bankrupt… hehe) if why does Chicago of Michael Jordan era successful….I answered him with just two words…. Triangle Offense!

Many believed that the triangle offense was invented by Tex Winter but actually it was designed by a hall famer coach Sam Barry at the University of Southern California but Tex redefined the system and became one of the most successful offensive weapon used in the NBA.

In 1984 a young guard named Michael Jordan was drafted by the Chicago bulls and made a name by himself averaging 28 points per game. He was the newly born star but his talent alone cannot win championships. He could score 60 plus but his teammates would only watched him and the offense became stagnant and predictable. Jordan was like an offensive dynamo that carries all the offense in his shoulders.

The Arrival of Phil Jackson and Tex Winter changes the whole scenario as the Triangle is implemented in order for Michael to pass the ball and his team mates in constant motion.

The triangle would start either in the lower post or upper post with the forward or the guard in the side and the point guard in the front thus forming a triangle. There are countless of options in the Triangle and the most effective would be when the scorer passes the ball on the upper post and the scorer runs through the center while the forward runs to the side so the Post person could either pass it to the center for a quick two or on the side for the slashing forward. And if neither of the two options is available he could either shoot it or pass it back to the point guard and the point guard could make another play. Its simple but there are lot of variations to this play. That’s why Phil Jackson uses a lot of role players for his one or two superstars. And as you noticed he uses players in the center position who are good shooters. Remember Bill Wennington, Horace Grant, Karl Malone, Robert Horry and Luke Longley. Having a dominant center is a plus for the triangle because he creates the double team and also could make a much wider options for offense like the Big Shaq. Anyways the downside of the triangle is that it can be defended easily using zone defense which is favorably use by some coaches against Phil Jackson’s team. But there are lots and lots of variety in the triangle that simply Phil Jackson never pushed the panicked button in his illustrious career. We have seen the success it made from Michael and Scottie Pippen and then from Shaq and Kobe and many coaches are now using the said offense like Tim Cone of the Alaska Aces and other coaches.

I would like to see Kobe win again the title with a Pau Gasol…for sure that would be some coaches back court nightmare… heheheh (gulp)

When Galileo theorized the world in perspective is round. People started to question his insanity… Before the moon were just parts of some silly rhymes and was virtually impossible to go there but years later Neil Armstrong made a giant leap for mankind as he set his foot to become the first man in history to go to the moon.

Galileo and Armstrong are two different individuals but bonded in one common goal to make the impossible possible…

A virtually unknown player from the Toronto Raptors Jamario Moon signed a 3 day contract with the Raptors. In his first game he scored 12 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes and made a lasting impression by the Raptors that he was given the starting spot.

But it was not all bed of roses for the young Raptor. He had to undergo the impossible first to make his dream a reality. Graduated in a sub Par College school averaging 20.8 points peppered with 8.7 rebounds he immediately listed himself in the 2001 NBA draft.

But no team wanted him and was forced to play in the CBA, LNBP, USBL and the Harlem Globetrotters. A typical journeyman so to speak but Jamario never gave up and worked hard every game he played. Playing in the Harlem Globetrotters made him discover how great he really is… there were times they would throw the ball so high and Jamario just give his all and jump as high as he could and catch the ball. He made jumping as a sanctuary for all his frustrations. When things don’t work out for him he just jump his way out of it literally…The Raptors gave Jamario some redemption and eventually carve his way in the league and became a defensive specialist breaking a club record of 1 block per game for 12 consecutive games. Highlights and impossible dunks slowly showing up in youtube and myspace. And fans are slowly recognizing his talent as he was named the NBA eastern conference rookie of the month for February.

Jamario still has a long way to go and a good career ahead of him.

Galileo, Armstrong and Jamario made a commitment to never gave up and made the impossible possible…

Fly me to the moon Jamario…

Before Michael Jordan retired for the first time talks have been circling around the NBA and fans panicked uncontrollably asking and questioning who would be his airness apparent heir? There are a bunch of players slowly showing signs with the likes of Jerry Stackhouse who at that time played for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was a consistent scorer but he was no where in Jordan’s league. The heir would be describe as a player who could score 40 or more points in almost all games and his jump would be describe as flying rather than a vertical leap and of course he has to have a smile that could launched a thousand ships and break every girls heart.

Grant Hill was the second player who tried to be the apparent heir. Hill was a charismatic player and a working force in the Pistons team but it was cut short because of an injury that almost ended his once colorful career. Grant Hill now played for the Phoenix Suns and is very much contented to be a role player.

And there was Vinsanity… Vince followed Jordan’s career path with a scorer’s mentality and revolutionized the slam dunk competition with his out of this world dunks. He was in every way a Jordan like player but without a Scottie Pippen, Vince Carter never got close in winning a title up to this day. Injuries hindered the Vince we know and love as he is the Jordan at age 40 who is content on shooting rather than doing a kamikaze dunk.

Kobe Bryant has all the right to be called the heir to his airness. Kobe won championships and to top it all that he could score and pass at the same time. And with years still ahead of him before retiring he is arguably the best all around player in the NBA right now. Not to mention his 80 points outing against the Raptors. Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in an age where there are no 3 seconds or 24 sec. violation, with Zone defense and at 7’1 there are little distractions at that time. So Kobe could even surpass Wilt in that manner.

Lebron James is another candidate and an up and coming sensation of the NBA. Lebron brought his team to the promise land in just his second year. Although it was cut short by the Spurs I could see a big bright future for Lebron. He is a good passer and people love him to death but I love to see Lebron join the slam dunk competition next year. With the thought of a Dwight Howard/Lebron James duel it made me salivating and drool endlessly (hehehehe).

Michael Jordan for me is the best player who ever played the game of basketball. He would always be the player who flies and glides his way to stardome. There would never be the next Michael Jordan. Stackhouse, Hill, Carter, Bryant and James have there own identity. It’s just unfortunate that they are born on the same era.

Everybody’s asking me who Edwin Valero is. And why is he tagged always to Manny Pacquiao. Well Edwin Valero is a Venezuelan fighter and like Linares he is a Japanese based fighter. He is a name around the corner and people who are boxing fanatics knows him through the internet. He is the current WBA super featherweight champion. Holding an impressive record of 22-0 and all 19 came from a first round knock out. So with a 100 percent KO record he is believed to be a heavy puncher and so far the most promising threat to Manny Pacquiao’s legacy. He had once challenge Manny into a fight luring Manny to fight him either in Japan or Macau. But Manny is just wise to say no because all the money fights will always be in the US so as long as Edwin doesn’t have the license to fight in the US he will stay there and try his luck in Japan or in other places other than US. Edwin Valero had a motorcycle accident that leads to a slight blood clot found by physicians in the US so he was banned to fight there.

But I could see the fight coming maybe after the Juan Marquez trilogy if ever he moves up to the 135lb division. Edwin Valero is a power puncher who moves forward and punches in volume. He hasn’t fought anyone who is a high caliber fighter like Manny. If you saw his matches he has the tendency to put his hands down after two or three punches. He is not a defensive boxer and he is not accustomed to long fights. Stamina, head movement and speed is scarce on this fighter but he makes up with his strong and powerful blows.

Prediction- Manny by KO in 6th round.

Edwin is just too slow and once Manny uses his speed and his new weapon the right hook for sure Valero would end up in a hospital. So unless he has proven himself he is worthy of fighting Pacquiao he is still just a name around the corner.

It’s just so hard to fathom why some people give up life that easily. Loosing your house, businesses or even love ones doesn’t give you the right to take your own lives because you’re tired and wanted everything to stop. You wanted the world to sympathize on you and if you don’t get that attention then you let the revolver do the talking.

There are other people who are less fortunate and there are other people who needs help more than you do.

Leon Powe epitomizes the success of going through a lot of adversities. His dad left him while he was two and their house burned down making him and his mother homeless for years. He was left to the care of a foster home and basketball soon became Leon’s haven. He met his mother again but was cut short after his mother died in a tragic death weeks before his state championship. He made basketball his comfort zone and continued to work harder. He made it through college playing for California Golden Bears. A series of knee injuries on his second year made Leon frustrated but he persevere and were drafted as 49th pick for the Denver Nuggets. He was then traded to the Boston Celtics and was on the bench for almost half of the season. Leon’s golden opportunity came when Boston’s reliable big man Kevin Garnet got injured. It was his time to shine and he shined brighter than ever scoring a career high of 25 points and 11 rebounds while beating the hapless Miami heat.

Leon might not be an all star in the making but he gave us a wonderful lesson. A lesson of life and how to deal with life’s misery life is all there is it’s either were stuck on all our problems and pains or simply we move on. Leon Powe continues to struggle with minutes on the bench but Leon has gone too far to let go… His den and his home is basketball and if he gives up what’s there to look forward to… Problems will pass and we should look up to Leon… Leon’s den.