Heckling in the PBA

Fans have been regarded as the lifeblood of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). But what would the league do if these fans go over their limitations?

This issue has been exposed again during the Game 2 of the best of seven finals between the San Miguel Beermen (SMB)  and the Barangay Ginebra Kings (BGK).  After the end of the buzzer, when both teams were about to go to their respective dug-outs, a BGK fan was attacked by SMB players Danny Ildefonso and Marc Pingris. See the video here:

The BGK fan was later identified as Ferdinand Nervadez, a 40-year old businessman from Bulacan. Here’s a couple of his photos taken by sportscaster Patricia Hizon:

Based from what I have read from several news reports, Ildefonso went after that idiot BGK fan because the fan kept saying vulgar words to him. An SMB insider said the fan has been banned from watching the PBA games live… forever. Okay, justice has been served. But wait. Something’s not right.

The idiot fan got banned just by giving invectives and dirty finger. Okay. But you can actually hear many fans in the venue shouting invectives to the players. So that means these fans should have been banned as well? My point is there must have been something else that the idiot fan did or said. Something that the PBA found very unjustifiable. Ergo, the ban. And I’m wondering why this has not been reported.

According to insiders, Mr. Nervadez did not only shout invectives and give Ildefonso a dirty finger. This idiot BGK fan also told Ildefonso that his (Ildefonso) daughter is going to die of cancer. Yes, Ildefonso’s daughter has cancer and has been undergoing chemotherapy for a while now. That was actually the reason why the SMB cager opted not to play in the recently concluded PBA All-Stars. Again, this has not been shown in the news reports that came out. Why?!

Something’s really fishy. Maybe the PBA did not let this out because they do not want to be faulted for not putting enough security personnel to control the crowd. Or in general, have measures to address hooliganism. Yes, the environment is a controllable factor. And in this recent heckling incident, the PBA once again allowed to get the matter go out of hand.

Now, the following are the lessons that should be learned from this basketbrawl:

For the PBA: True enough, the PBA exists because of the fans. PBA teams are private companies that invest in the league to advertise their respective services/products. Yes, the PBA is nothing if there are no fans who support the league. However, restrictions should be imposed. PBA players are also humans who have emotions (even though many people seem to regard basketball as a sport close to cockfighting). Ildefonso was provoked by the BGK fan. Things might not have had an ugly turn if the PBA strictly implemented security measures in the venue, granted the league has such.

For the players: Players have to learn how to keep their poise and composure. This no matter how the fans insult them (sad but true). They have no choice but to always check their temper, considering how many ill-mannered and hooligan fans are there.

For the fans: Sure, fans are the so-called “lifeblood” of the PBA. But being paying fans doesn’t give one all the right in the world to ridicule and humiliate the PBA players. That is just PURE HOOLIGANISM.

I sincerely hope that the PBA come up with measures to curb fan heckling. Such display of barbaric act and utmost hooliganism all the more put a dent into an already stained image of the league.

Hemolytic anemia shit

The past couple of weeks have been really hard for the family as my mom was in and out of the hospital. In November 2008, we found out that she has autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Her hemoglobin count fell at around 75 (normal was at 125). That was the time when she had her first blood transfusion.

Last month, when she underwent laparoscopic surgery at the University of Santo Tomas hospital, her hemoglobin count was below normal again. She had another blood transfusion to compensate for the lack of red blood cells (RBCs).

According to her hematologist (and also based from the literature I have read), what happens when you have hemolytic anemia is that your antibodies destruct your RBCs, treating as if the RBCs are foreign materials in the body. My mom is now taking prednisone to combat the antibodies shit.

But things are so complicated since my mom has diabetes. When you take in prednisone, your sugar level increases. Last week, we were all worried when she found out one morning that her sugar level was around 500. A whopping 500. She was confined for three days last week in a hospital near our place so that her diabetologist can monitor her sugar level and adjust her insulin intake.

We thought everything’s going to be fine but last Sunday morning, my mom was so pale and her complete blood count revealed that her RBC count was at 65. Freaking 65. She’s currently undergoing blood transfusion and yesterday, her RBC count was at 88. Hopefully, it continues to stabilize.

So right now, her hematologist is tracing where are the antibodies shit are coming from. Good thing we were assured that my mom does not have any of those freaking illnesses like leukemia, lupus, or cancer. Thank God. I just hope those antibodies shit will be addressed as soon as possible. They are really scaring the hell out of us.

Pray. Pray. Pray.

Me owns a Wii

Wee.

Another sweet deal I got this time from Ebay. One month used Korean Wii converted to US and comes with three games just for 8k (around $170). What made the deal sweeter is that it has a replacement warranty from EYO in Greenhills until July just in case it bugs down (I hope not) and lifetime service warranty for peace of mind. Indeed, that was truly a steal.

Anyway, my little sister and I played our Nintendo Wii the whole morning yesterday. The games I currently have are Mario Kart Wii, Wii Play, Resident Evil 4, Mario Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Zoo Hospital. It seems like a pretty decent lineup to begin with. We enjoyed playing billiards on Wii Play and Mario Kart (Peach’s reactions are hilarious). I can’t wait to get my hands on Wii Sports and Warioware: Smooth Moves. I’m excited to see my parents play together (which doesn’t happen since they are not into video games) or my drunk friends do high speed dancing like this. LOL.

Will be posting some photos of my new toy soon.

Family day

Yesterday, we celebrated my parents’ 20+ something wedding anniversary. We went to church in the morning and then had lunch at Max’s (I shouldered half of the bill LOL). When we got home, we took our family picture… something that we haven’t done in such a long, long time. And later at night, my mother prepared a sumptuous dinner for us (it really pays to have a mom who has mad cooking skills. Ask my tummy. LOL).

What a great day… really. 

Too ‘busy’

Can someone teach me how to be more productive during laidback Saturdays and Sundays?

Experience Anilao

Just some of the photos I took during our team-building activity at Punto Miguel in Anilao, Batangas last April 29-30.

Anoop got the boot

My American idol bet Anoop Desai has been eliminated from the show, together with fellow contestant Lil Rounds as part of the double-elimination week.

Boo.

I agree with Rickey’s observation. Anoop got robbed… again. Matt shouldn’t have been saved last week after his atrocious rendition of  “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman“. And how about his “Staying Alive” performance wherein he couldn’t pull flawless falsettos and smooth riffs and runs? Sir Bitter was correct when he said that Matt was “ staying the fuck alive“. Not that I’m bashing other contestants. I just think Anoop deserves to stay longer than Matt (and even Danny Offkey Gokey).

From a religious follower of the show since Top 36, I saw Anoop’s elimination coming. It was really something expected. TPTB has something against Anoop. From the judges’ comments, the exposure given to Anoop, to Seacrest’s leading questions, etc. etc. As EW.com’s Michael Slezak put it, “Anoop never seemed to get much respect from the Idol machine “. He was always un- and underappreciated. He was this season’s “designated punching bag”. Thank you, TPTB. So much for your manipulation this season.

Anyway, here is Anoop performing “True Colors” and “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)“, two of his best perfs.

Now I’m done watching this show. Sucks to know there would no longer be studio recordings of Anoop to download and listen to. I guess I should stick to the ones I have plus his Clef Hanger videos while waiting for his future album.

Photo from Fox

My first photo shoot EB

Last Easter Sunday, I attended a photo shoot EB held at UPLB. The shoot was organized by PiPho folks living in Laguna, the province where I’m residing in. At first, I was hesitant to join given my lack of technical knowledge and well.. gears. (I still don’t have any flash unit and I’m still currently using D40’s kit lens on my D80 body).  Armed with my curiosity and hunger for a shoot (together with my mini gears), I decided to give it a try. And wow. I really had so much fun learning from the masters and fellow newbies. Here’s our group hug photo:

And another one:

So as you can see, I’m the lone girl in the group. Thus, it is now my fervent hope to recruit another one. Hehe.

CAW CAW

Megan Joy Corkrey has been eliminated from American Idol. I felt sooner or later, she would definitely get the boot out in this pretending-to-be-a-singing-competition that is AI… but not before Scott. I just can’t believe Scott “the overstaying blind man and mediocre singer who’s just there because of sympathy votes” is still up in the running. Wow.

Anyway, now that she’s gone in the show, I’ll miss her quirkiness, unique voice, and crazy antics. VFTW folks will definitely miss her too. The CAW CAW, her flipping, her weird dancing… everything. And one of the things that set her apart from other contestants is her devil-may-care attitude. Megan Joy does not care what the producers and judges think. She refuses to be pigeonholed as the “package artist” they want her to be. Contrary to other contestants (maybe except for Anoop Desai), Megan has the courage to give the judges a dose of their own medicine.

Just an excerpt from her Entertainment Weekly interview:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: It seems like you performed the song way more in the judges’ faces last night than you did on Tuesday night. Was that a big F.U. to them?

MEGAN JOY: Yeah, I was ready to be right in their faces. They have a habit of talking to each other while we sing. That’s so rude.

Photo by FOX

THE days

I am currently writing an article due next week but had the urge to blog about something real quick.

I logged on to Facebook while I was working then suddenly, my classmate back in elementary (whom I added last week as one of my contacts) suddenly dropped a message. Took a break from work to chat with him. Seems like he already forgot everything back then and he cannot remember me. LOL. I even had to mention few names of our classmates and schoolmates, our section back in fourth grade, etc. Had a trip down memory lane of some sort.

Shoot, I suddenly remembered how simple life was back then. I only had to think of my assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams. Failing was not much of a concern because I know at the end of the day, I will graduate whatever happens. No worries. I just have that feeling that everything’s GOING TO BE okay.

Growing up entails more responsibility. And now, life is SO complicated. I am always worried that my boss/client may not like my output no matter how much effort I exerted on it. I am worried that I will fail to meet and exceed other people’s expectations of me, including my parents’.

I am just worried of the fact that my future seems so bleak and uncertain that I don’t know if I can get past this stage.

Wow, time flies REALLY fast… so fast that I feel I can’t keep up with it. Or maybe I refuse to.

/me has to end my rants now. /me needs to work to impress my client to earn, and /me must not fail.