The Eastern Conference Quarter Finals between Miami and New York rivalry went down to the last few seconds in the ball game. Miami is the no. 1 team in the East and leads a slim one point lead going into the last seconds in the ballgame. The year was 1999 Game 5 with 4.5 seconds left Charlie ward inbounding the ball, a hard screen from Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston out of nowhere all at once run towards the basket, fake a shot and lean forward against the heavy defense of Dan Majerle and bank the shot swish the ball went in and the young Houston ran towards the half court in jubilation.

That was 9 years ago and after many attempts of resurrecting his career Allan Houston will once again play as a Knick this year which makes it his third time to come out of retirement. Many have tried but only a handful of players succeed. Penny Hardaway tried his luck last season but to no avail failed to get a spot in Miami’s roster. Grant Hill after all his season ending injuries are by far successful in pro longing his once colorful career in Phoenix. Will Allan Houston follow the footsteps of Grant Hill or is he on his way for a Penny Hardaway performance?
Allan Houston is a pure shooter who could be helpful in Mike D’Antoni’s run and gun offense. Houston will have to fight his time against Crawford, Fred Jones and Richardson and with the offense Houston will have a hard time finding his spot. But in a team where leadership is scarce that is where Allan Houston clearly fits. The Knicks need a leader which was clearly lacking on their seasoned guard Stephon Marbury. Allan will provide the leadership and a mentor to the young rookies like Gallinari, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Dan Grunfeld. Allan knows what it takes to win and he knows there are no boundaries in making to the top.

Allan Houston’s winning shot against Miami was the focal point of his career. Now there are no Patrick Ewing’s, John Starks, Larry Johnsons and Sprewell’s to back him up. He is now the person his team looks up to. Will the Knicks be successful this season?
Who knows… Allan Houston could be the ingredient for their championship run. But Allan is no superman… At age 37 there are millions of doubts if he could deliver.
Maybe the miracle shot will happen…. the no.8 seed Knicks have conquered the top seeded Miami in a series where no one expected the Knicks to win.
Allan Houston delivers… hopefully this time another miracle happens…

Juan Manuel Marquez will be facing a hole in his coveted career after disposing the Ring Magazine champion Joel Casamayor and Manny has a big slice of that hole that Juanma has put himself into. Since their epic battle that resulted with a draw and a split decision Juanma followed Manny up north in the lightweight division hoping to get everything settled but Manny has a monumental matchup with the Golden boy in boxing Oscar De La Hoya which leaves Juanma without a dancing partner. It’s a bit blurry to see the Pacquiao-Marquez third edition at this time now considering Manny has set his eyes on Ricky Hatton after the De La Hoya fight. Marquez is in a waiting game and he has no other way but to hope Manny will turn the tide and fight him.
At age 35 waiting is not an option for Juanma and there is only one way for Manny to fight him again… clear the lightweight division… if this happens then he doesn’t need to lure Manny for the trilogy the fans will demand for that fight to happen.
So with a talented class of lightweights Juan Manuel has the luxury to choose the worthy opponent for his next bout

Nate Campbell (WBA, WBO and IBF champion) – the unified lightweight champion is one year older than Marquez but have been fighting almost all his career in the lightweight division. This would be a good fight with Marquez because a fighter like Nate who is a pressure puncher brings out the best of Marquez who is a master of counterpunching. This fight would have already been sealed if it wasn’t for the promoters. It would have been a good fight now it seems like a distant possibility.

Juan Diaz- His fight with Michael Katsidis proved Juan is back and before anyone else Juan was the lightweight ruler before Nate Campbell took away his belts. But Juan is still 24 and that might not be a good matchup for Marquez, Juan will imposed his pressure punches to Marquez although Juanma can counter Diaz bombs but the question would be how long? Marquez has trouble when he is showered with barrage of punches with speed and power like on the first Pacquiao match. And with Speed and power on Diaz side this would be a risky fight for Marquez although it’s a very tough fight but the reward would be fulfilling. Juan Diaz is the beast to slay in the lightweight division and winning against a young and durable fighter like Diaz would took him up in the pound per pound rankings.

Edwin Valero- Edwin has poor defense but what he lacks on defense is compensated with his power. Unknown to some Edwin has a good amateur background with a record of 86-6 with a 66 percent KO ratio so in other words he knows how to box and knows how to win a boxing match. His 18 first round KO record abandoned his boxing skills and became a known slugger. Juanma will have his hands full against a heavy handed hitter like Edwin but this would silence the hype and untested Valero in making his own battle against Pacman if Marquez wins.

Joan Guzman- a disappointment to everyone but Joan is still a superb tactician in the ring although he has to change his ways if he wants his career to stay longer. Juanma and Joan have similarity in styles but Joan is a notch higher in defense and quickness. This would be a seesaw battle but I bet my money on Juanma for this one. If you went into a camp 40lbs heavier in the lightweight division then undeniably you got issues. Being a boxer doesn’t only require you to be skilled but it takes also a lot of discipline.

Juan Manuel Marquez doesn’t have to worry about a fight with Pacquiao if it happens it happens…Destiny always find a way to make the what could be the greatest fight in boxing… but yeah Destiny has also issues..

I thought of tweaking my top Greatest Billiard players into a mold of pound per pound greats. Though there are no inkling similarities between the two sports but nonetheless they both given fans exciting and mouth watering matches.

7. Mikka immonem- A former world champion in Billiards has a distinct approached in his shots. He is aggressive but at times tricky he is a good counter puncher but sometimes his aggressiveness could result to loosing more rounds.

6. Earl “The Pearl” Strickland- The typical trash talking player who could ruin anybody’s day Earl has a behavior of a 12 year old kid. Who lets his emotions get to him his accomplishments over the past 25 years in Billiards make him a future hall of famer… He has the skills of a Floyd Mayweather with a mouth like a Bernard Hopkins.

5. Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer- A two time nine-ball champion has won 60 professional tournaments throughout his career. Archer has a cool demeanor and has a killer instinct in close matches. He is the typical boxer in billiards though his recent outing wasn’t a good one.

4. Francisco “Django” Bustamante – He is similar to Boom boom Mancini or an Edwin Valero in the present. Django can hit the billiard balls with power. He is one of the greatest Filipino player to play the game. Valero had a 100 percent KO rate and has tied the record of 18 KO’s in the first round while Django holds the world record for the most powerful break shot at 43 miles per hour. Bustamante’s strength is his power he has won numerous tournaments in his career but his 2002 ordeal in the World Pool championships was a devastating one. His daughter died and had to carry his emotions going to the finals against 2-time winner of the tournament Earl Strickland. Though Bustamante failed to win against Earl but his stroke of luck began carrying him to the series of tournaments that followed.

3. Alex Pagulayan- Born and raised in the Philippines until Alex turned 13 where his family immigrated to Canada, Alex grew up in a pool hall managed by his father and started his love for the sport. A very skilled player who could even pocket five balls in one break he won the recent World Pool Masters in Las Vegas although Alex is a likeable pool player but he is mistakenly labeled as a sour loser. His skill is tremendous and with years ahead Alex future is still shining bright. He is more like Juan Diaz who could throw five or 6 combinations and at only 28 Alex Pagulayan still has more matches ahead.

2. Ralph Souquet – One of the greatest European pool master in the world Ralph have fought Many battles in his colorful career with his latest 2008 world 8 ball championship.
Ralph is the Joe Calzaghe in billiards a future hall of famer with a charismatic attitude.

1. Efren “Bata” Reyes – The so called magician. He made the most impossible shots and has given him recognition as one of the greatest player in billiards. His faced off with Earl Strickland could be one of the greatest matchup in billiards their 3 day race to 120 challenge match in 9-ball was the largest single-winning purse in a pool event which Reyes won 120-117. Reyes won most of the money-rich tourneys worldwide and his success made him the Philippines Sports Ambassador in 2005 South East Asian games.
He had commercials and movies but Efren’s undoubting charisma made him more loveable and could easily be compared to Oscar De La Hoya with Manny Pacquiao like humble attitude. Efren is still actively playing but his age is slowly catching up on him. He doesn’t need to worry about legacy since it’s already been etched down.

So here you go folks my 2008 pound per pound ratings in billiards.

Kimbo Slice-Ken Shamrock
If you only have 3 fights in your record with 2 knockouts and 1 submission you have to be really good to sell a fight in a pay per view unless your name is Kevin Ferguson otherwise known as Kimbo Slice. Kimbo has been on the limelight since his football days in Miami but he became famous in the net with all his street fights while serving as a bodyguard in a porn company. The strong charismatic personality by Kimbo makes him an instant star and fans are calling him to step a notch higher and become an MMA fighter with the legendary Tank Abbott credited to his name after a short workout in round 1. But this time Kimbo will come into the ring against equally talented and dangerous Ken Shamrock on Oct.4 although a 10 year age gap might play an advantage to Kimbo but Ken will come into the fight with his 22-13-2 fight record a far cry advantage against Kimbo’s three wins.
Slice and Shamrock is a tossed coin matchup but at age 44 I do think Ken with all his battles will slowly take its toll. Let’s just hope both men after the fight comes home in one piece.
Banal wants a piece of El torito
The ALA boxers have been known to have the distinct class in Philippine boxing and after their prize undefeated fighter Boomboom tasted defeat at the hands of Ponce De Leon. The limelight went into AJ Banal on his quest for a title but Rafael Concepcion has other plans. After 9 rounds of boxing wherein AJ could have run and ducked Concepcion’s haymakers AJ succumbed to body shots and the once undefeated Banal followed Boom boom’s fate. But Concepcion’s interim belt didn’t last that long as Rafael failed to grab back his belt against heavy Mexican favorite Jorge “El Travieso” Arce.
Now Banal wants to avenge his humiliating loss to Concepcion. Would that be a good fight for the young AJ? I do think AJ on their first fight was dominating Concepcion before round nine but AJ lost his focus and the over trained issue surfaced. AJ needs to fight Rafael Concepcion just like Boomboom has to face his tormentor in Ponce De Leon. Though a fight with Concepcion doesn’t do much in AJ’s career but a win against Rafael could bring back his confidence especially if you are humiliated in your own turf.
Writer going overboard
When I write as much as I wanted to be fair and unbiased but sometimes it’s unevitable to take sides in writing especially in a matchup when you always have an inclination to the fighter you are favoring to win. But top executive Ricardo Lois of boxing confidential went overboard when he wrote about the Dec.6 matchup with Pacquiao against De La Hoya he wrote that “After Oscar hurts Manny with a left hook to the brain, you will see Pacquiao doing the crackhead dance….. It will be great to see that”.
I know Ricardo Lois has every right to write whatever he wants but he sounds pathetic and in every angle sadistic who loves people getting hurt. Ricardo hate Pacquiao no doubt about it but writing those things doesn’t vindicate anything. Writing gives us the privilege to inform and inspire people and not the other way around. Something tells me he just started a war.

Back in our elementary days when we are behaving well we are rewarded with stars and each star represents an opportunity to brag or to take pride of the small accomplishment we’ve done. We show the world how we got a star while doing exactly what the teacher wants us to do.
Juan Manuel Marquez represents a portion of us while dismantling the equally talented Joel Casamayor. He executed a perfect game plan and destroyed the hopes of Casamayor and forced him to the brink of retirement.
Marquez showed to the world that he is the best lightweight out there and send a strong message to Manny Pacquiao. Manny and Juanma have totaled 24 rounds of fight and after a draw in the first fight Pacquiao escaped a split decision win but it was hotly contested by Marquez. A third encounter should have been done if not for Manny moving up in weight and challenge Marquez boss Oscar De La Hoya.
Juan Manuel Marquez after his sterling performance against Casamayor told the media that Mayweather is no.1 and after Floyd retired he is now the no.1 pound per pound in the world discrediting Manny Pacquiao and Joe Calzaghe in return. If Marquez wants to be no.1 then he has to go through wars and be successful in other words being no.1 means you have to earn it.
Without biased Marquez has superb talent and by far one of the best counterpuncher boxing has made. But he had also made stupid things that derailed his greatness. He refused a rematch after their 2004 battle against Pacquiao and fought Chris John in Indonesia and lost. He went to the Philippines and lure Pacquiao to a third fight which is by far made him a sour looser.
Juan Manuel Marquez is one of the best lightweight in the world now but he is definitely not the no.1 pound per pound yet. There is a thin definition between good and great.
Good means superiority and great means immense importance with vast results. Marquez is a good fighter but he still far from great.
Four stars for you….

Last Saturday we could have witness the face off eliminations of the two lightweight fights scheduled but Joan Guzman had to cancel the fight for his own good after 3.5lbs heavy than the 135lb lightweight limit and had to suffer serious dehydration and so all roads goes to the Juan Manuel Marquez and Joel Casamayor Face off.
The fight was a see saw battle until Marquez right hand found its place in the 11th round and scored a knockout on the crafty Casamayor. Marquez have accomplished what Acelino Frietas, Jose Luis Castillo and the late Diego Corrales haven’t done to knock the lights off of Casamayor. Marquez is now the Ring magazine lightweight champion and was quoted as saying “Mayweather is the no.1 and after he retired I am now the no.1 best in the world” Is Juanma the best? Everyone can make a good argument about this… Many think Manny Pacquiao is the best after his demolition job against hard hitting David Diaz but still a draw and a split decision win against Marquez still leaves everything unsettled.
Juan Manuel’s Argument
Marquez followed Manny Pacquiao in the lightweight division hoping to settle the score against Pacman by doing so he fought one of the best in the lightweight division. Pacquiao fought a hard hitting sitting duck David Diaz although David was overwhelmed by Manny’s speed and power but David was once an Olympian and had never been down prior to Pacquiao’s fight the thing is interim or champion the fact that David Diaz won the WBC belt means that he had fought through nails to be a champion and there’s no such thing as an easy opponent or a champion in that matter.
Juan Manuel Marquez may have fought a more known commodity in the lightweight division but the fight before the 11th round could have gone either way if it had reach the full 12 rounds. Age got into Joel Casamayor with all the battles he had sooner or later he will self destruct.
Credit is served to where it is due. Hats off to Juan Manuel for fighting a good fight and I have never seen Juanma this good. He deserved the win and a third fight with Pacquiao should have been made but this time things are a bit blurry for that fight to happen.
Pacquiao
Manny would be fighting a dream match with Oscar De La Hoya this Dec.6 and if Manny wins Oscar would beg for a rematch for another mega money fight or a matchup with Ricky Hatton would be feasible. That would leave Juan Manuel Marquez looking for another dance partner. Pacquiao was vocal about fighting his last two fights before hanging up for good and time is running out for Marquez at age 35.
Future Fights for Marquez
If a Pacquiao fight is not available Juanma should clean the lightweight division by fighting Nate Campbell then Juan Diaz or a rematch against Casamayor. If Pacquiao and Marquez both successful on their fights a face off between two unsettled pound per pound kings would be a fitting finale for their careers.
Who is the best lightweight?
I would have voted the tested veteran Nate Campbell holding three belts on his name. But Juan Manuel Marquez has showed a good argument after beating Casamayor in a classy fashion. Manny Pacquiao’s sterling performance against David Diaz could also be a base for a good debate. Everything is still unclear for now but lets all settle this argument in the ring…. Pacquiao-Marquez 3 this would seal the deal.

They say opportunity comes only once in a lifetime and chances are a good number of people don’t think about their loss when its all been gone.
The golden ticket was given to Joan Guzman after his body had a hard time making the Superfeather weight limit at 130lbs. He relinquished his WBO superfeather weight title and in good faith he was given a shot at the WBO lightweight title held by unified champion Nate Campbell. Manny Pacquiao got the opportunity when he fought Dangerous David Diaz for the WBC title but Joan got a rare chance of becoming 3 belts richer than Manny namely the WBA, WBO and IBF held by Campbell. If Joan came out victorious he would have chartered a unified title fight with Manny’s WBC belt. It would have given him a chance to be part of the top pound per pound list and a mega money purse credited to his bank account. In other words the door is opening up on Joan after his hard earned struggle to the top.
During their weigh in Nate came up a 0.2 pound higher in the scales and after his second try he easily made the 135lb weight limit but Joan Guzman came up to the scales 3.5 overweight and was given two hours to scale down but team Guzman failed to show up and made an amicable agreement to forego the fight but since he is way beyond the weight limit the fight was made as a non title fight.
Joan Guzman let go a rare opportunity to fight for the titles but most of all he let a lot of people down. But the blame should not be on Joan only his team would have to take its part in monitoring his weight. Maybe Joan was so intense in moving up in weight that he forgot to go on a strict diet. His weight issues have been derailing his career and he might not get another chance on the lightweight belt. I don’t think moving up again in weight will help.
Opportunity comes knocking on his door and Joan failed to answer it. Maybe the rare chance would never come again… Maybe it will happen when crows turn white….
Blame it on his team or better yet blame it on the rain…Poor Joan.

I know how it feels to get your heart broken. The pain is just too deep like a dull razor blade slowly cutting your heart. Sometimes you wish you could die and stop the pain. But the only thing to do is to face the painstakingly emotions each and every day until you wake up one day and it’s all gone. The experienced makes you grow stronger and mature the broken pieces is healed but there would always be a scar to remind you of that experienced.
Nate Campbell the reigning WBA, WBO and IBF unified lightweight champion has been battered, wounded and broken hearted before capturing a split decision victory against formerly undefeated Juan Diaz. Nate at age 36 has to go to a lot of failures in his career his road was not served with a silver platter. After winning his first 23 bouts he lost a unanimous decision to Casamayor and followed with two losses to Robbie Peden and another loss to Francisco Lorenzo. Nate was just out of the equation when it comes to lightweight division best. Although his 32-5-1 record is above average it took him years before Juan Diaz gave him a crack on his unified title belts.
This Saturday Nate Campbell is fighting on his first ever main event fight and his first defense is not an easy one. He would have to battle the crafty Joan Guzman who dominated fights on the 122-126 division and the former WBO superfeatherweight champion. Guzman dub as the little Tyson would bring a different repertoire coming into the fight against Campbell. Campbell was never given a chance when he fought Diaz but Nate fought Juan in an exciting and almost perfect fight and coming into the Guzman fight he comes once again as a 4-1 underdog.
Nate Campbell has fought with losses, heartbreak and failures and became a champion he knows how it is to loose and he knows how hard it is to be a champion. Guzman will be in for a good fight. Guzman deserves the respect and Nate deserves it more than ever.
He is the champion and he has come a long way to earn our respect.

They say opposite attracts a negative ion repels a negative ion. A battery needs the negative and positive polarity to work. So what does it take to make a fight great? By pitting an offensive boxer against a defensive minded fighter and the result is fireworks.
This is not the case between Joel Casamayor and Juan Manuel Marquez this coming Saturday both are counter punchers and both are defensive minded pugilists.
For the boxing viewers this is not the fight you want to watch but for the die hard fanatics this is the fight to watch for. The tacticians at work Casamayor will come to the fight as the heavier fighter and as the craftiest between Marquez. Marquez has an impressive resume to boast for and will come to the fight prepared and willing to exchange punches against a game Casamayor.
Tale of the Tape
Joel Casamayor
The interim WBO lightweight champion stands 5’7” has a record of 36-3-1 with 22 fights coming by way of Knockout. He also has a two inch reach advantage against Marquez at 69”. He is a southpaw who has one or two fights left at age 37. Born in Cuba and is a two time world champion as well as the Ring Magazines People champ.
Juan Manuel Marquez
The challenger has the same height as Casamayor but shades about 2” in reached. Marquez has a record of 48-4-1 with 35 Knockouts. Although he has a high KO rate but Marquez fought most of his fights in the featherweight (126lb.) division while “El Cepillo” fought most of his fights in the lightweight and Super Featherweight divisions. Marquez has an orthodox stance and is 2 years younger than Casamayor. Juan Marquez captured titles in the featherweight division and captured the WBC Super featherweight title via unanimous decision against the sturdy Barrera.
It’s an even steven between both fighters. Marquez still fired up with his last fight against Pacquiao will try to continue his momentum coming into the fight but Casamayor fresh from his TKO win against the hard hitting Katsidis will give Juanma a different puzzle to solve. Marquez knows whats at stake here… a trilogy with Pacquiao but Joel always spoils the party and a fight with Pacquiao can make a good hefty sum of money for retirement.
Can Marquez take a lightweight punch? Or will Casamayor’s age take effect?
Questions will be answered this Saturday.

Yes Manny Pacquiao is quite popular here in the Philippines. Sometimes when you go abroad people would associate you with Manny and it’s a good start for a lengthy conversation. Long before Manny was an icon here in the Philippines there was Luisito Espinosa, The Penalosa brothers but no one came close to what Manny has accomplished and what he has done to the sport of boxing.
Many people saw Manny as a God here in the Philippines but we have only one God and Manny only served as an inspiration for a third world country who is struggling against corruption and poverty. When Pacman fights the streets are almost empty. The MILF rebels and the Military cease fire. There are no politics, there are no wars… The cinemas, plazas and living rooms are filled with laughter’s and cheers.
Pacquiao tried politics but the people strongly disagree to see Manny stained his name with corruption.
I remember Manny’s blow by blow fights, his knockdown from an unheralded Rustico Torrecampo and his defeat from the hands of a Thailander foe. His rags to riches story represent a hope for every state where into a silver lining for every darkest cloud.
The fight against Oscar might be one of the toughest fight for Manny but come Dec.6 the streets would be empty again there would be cease fire the Filipinos are united and for an hour the Philippines are once again at peace.