IN FOOTBALL, one of the big events in town is the Mizuno Cup. This August 25-26 and September 1-2, the 2nd edition of this event kicks off in Cebu. Officially, it’s called the “2ND MIZUNO FOOTBALL FIESTA.” Fiesta? Sure. There’ll be music. Banners will surround the venue. Food booths will scatter around. Parents. Lolas. Titos. Everyone in football will be there to watch. Organized by Dr. Wendell Villacin (the owner of Mint Shop in BTC, the distributors of Mizuno) and assisted by Neil Montesclaros as tournament director, footballers as young as six years old and as “mature” as 40-plus year-olds will wear their spikes, kick, scramble and shoot for that goal.
BIKE4U
Bite Magazine turns over proceeds from a fund-raising event “A Night of Graffiti All Star BITEs” to its beneficiary BIKE4U Foundation. During the check turn-over, (from left): BIKE4U directors Tex Hernandez, Roy Zapata, Meyrick Jacalan and Boying Rodriguez (far right) and Bite magazine’s David Harris and Roy Lumagbas (3rd and 2nd from right). BIKE4U is a non-profit who organization who grants bicycles to indigent students. For donations, log on to www.bike4u.org or call 23285-18 0r 19.
15 Ways To Keep Your Brain In Shape
My good friend Bobby Villareal sent these 15 tips a few days ago. They’re a must-read…
1. Just stop. Take 20-30 minutes out of your day to think about nothing. But don’t sleep – you’ve got to meditate. Sit still, reduce sensory input, and try to focus your mind on something like a calm scene or a color (to begin with thinking about something rather than trying to think of ‘nothing’ is easier). A study at the University of Kentucky revealed that subjects who took a late-afternoon test after meditating for 30 minutes had better scores than those who napped for the same time.
At the Olympics…
A man was walking through the Olympic village carrying a long pole. A reporter came up to him and asked, “Are you a pole vaulter?” The man replied, “No, I’m a German. But how did you know my name was Walter?” Hehehe…
Taekwondo and Tony del Prado
“I’ve been running since 1996,” said Tony del Prado, “and was able to influence a few into running. One of them is my brother, Dr. Pons del Prado (who, in turn, convinced Dr. Yong Larrazabal to join the sport). I still run seriously but I avoid hitting the roads so as to avoid foot injuries. I’ve always had plantar fascitis. I do 99% of my running on the treadmills of Holiday Gym. I think I hold the record there for most number of minutes (over 3 hours) on a treadmill. Ha-ha.”
Tony, 47, has joined many races in the past. “But my favorites are the Singapore and Hong Kong marathons. It’s a yearly event for me and my brother. It gives us the motivation to maintain our fitness level. Although we only competed in the ‘half,’ it was exhilarating. The last HK marathon attracted 40,000 runners!”
Randy and Christine
If I had to change places with any one man today, it would be Randy del Valle. Last Tuesday, Randy and his wife Christine went to Wimbledon. Their eyes enlarged. Their hearts pumped thrice as fast. They savored the strawberries and cream. Their camera clicked and clicked. A major tennis fan, Randy finally lived his dream of watching a major. And what a major: the biggest, most popular, most revered major event in tennis, Wimbledon. Here are photos Randy and Christine took at the All-England Club. But beware: After viewing them, you’ll get a case of “envy” sickness. Enjoy these photos…
Guillermo Canas
Indian sensation Sania Mirza
Nicholas Kiefer
Tommy Robredo
Ping-Pong, not Piolo Pascual, at SM
Yesterday (Sunday) at 3 p.m., I strolled into SM City Cebu. There was a lot of noise. It was coming from the Entertainment Center, near SM’s Food Court area. Must be some actress, I said. They usually have shows every Sunday. The shouts grew louder. I was intrigued. It must be Piolo Pascual. I walked closer to the upper floor railing to look. NO! There was no Pinoy Big Brother activity. No one sang or danced. Two tables stood on four legs each. Four players crowded the two tables. It was Table Tennis. A competition. And hundreds of eyes were turning left and right to watch the little white ball fly on air. Ping-Pong is fun. It requires so much quickness that if your eye-hand coordination is a milli-second slow… then ping-pong’s not for you. Enjoy these photos…
Adidas and the Red Sea
It’s a Sunday morning and my alarm rang at 4:45 a.m. I made coffee, checked my e-mail, showered, dressed, and headed out the door with my wife Jasmin and daughter Jana to join the Adidas 5K race named “King of the Road.” When I arrived at the front of the Cebu Normal University, a sea of red swamped the road. Adidas outfitted 3,474 runners with red sleeveless shirts and three white stripes. Wise move. When the gun fired at exactly 6 in the morning, running shoes banged against the asphalt road of Osmena Boulevard.
5K Run? Nah… 42K Marathon!
Last Tuesday afternoon at 5:30, I strolled inside Nike Park in Ayala. I scanned the Swoosh items, gazed into their sale items, and toured around the aisles. Right beside, checking some sleeveless, Dri-FIT shirts, stood my good friend Dr. Vic Verallo. We shook hands, smiled, exchanged “How are you’s” and talked about the one topic that we never fail to discuss when we meet: Running. I told Dr. Verallo that my wife Jasmin and I were joining this Sunday’s Adidas 5K Run. Are you joining, I asked. He smiled. No, he’s not, and here’s why: Next month, in late July, Dr. Vic Verallo and two others from Cebu won’t be running the 5K. They’ll be running 42.125 kms. The full marathon! They’re joining the Milo Marathon– and it’s Dr. Verallo’s second marathon run. To train, the past two Sundays they’ve ran 30 kms. First, all the way to Liloan; the second, to Mactan, around Mandaue, and back to Cebu City. To Dr. Vic (whom I wrote a full-length article about here), good luck and God bless!
The Rafael Nadal Blog
The other night past 11 p.m. and over two bottles of Coke Light at Badgers Resto Bar in Banilad, my buddy Dr. Ronnie Medalle and I talked about Rafael Nadal. We analyzed his French Open victory. We exchanged pointers on how Roger Federer could have beaten him the past two Roland Garros finals they’ve met. We marveled at the 21-year-old Spaniard’s intensity. Then Ronnie asked, “Why are you more of a Nadal than Federer fan?” I paused. Good question. Dr. Medalle is right. When the world’s no.1 and no.2 tennis players face each other across the tennis net, I favor the lefty. Why?