By Al S. Fernandez   LEYLAH Fernandez is the latest budding tennis star to burst into the global stage with Filipino blood running in her veins. Let’s raise a glass. Even if Leylah lost last weekend’s championship showdown for the U.S. Open, the year’s grandest tennis event alongside the three…

By Al S. Mendoza     BONG Go said he is not running for president on May 9, 2022. This, after he was endorsed as the official presidential candidate by the PDP-Laban Party on Sept. 8 in San Fernando City, Pampanga. President Duterte was nominated for vice president in the…

By Al S. Mendoza   I’VE said it before and I’ll say it again:  Let’s hold next year’s elections for three days. One day for Luzon.  One day for the Visayas. One day for Mindanao. This will be for the good both of the Comelec and the nation long embroiled in hurtful…

By Al S. Mendoza    WHAT happened to Manny Pacquiao? Why did he lose to Yordenis Ugas on Aug. 22 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada? Wasn’t he supposed to win based on statistics and fight predictions? Nothing much actually happened to Pacquiao, except that he has grown old….

By Al S. Mendoza   MANNY Pacquiao fights again today, August 22 Philippine time, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The last time he fought was in July 2019, barely beating American Keith Thurman by split decision. In that fight, Pacquiao won two of the three judges by similar scores of 115-112….

By Al S. Mendoza   WE toast Hidilyn Diaz for her historic weightlifting win in Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Her gold was the country’s highest achievement in 97 years since our first Olympics participation in Paris 1924. Nobody can ever take that adoration away from her. It is a lifetime badge…

By Al S. Mendoza   THE first gold medal in Olympics history. Delivered by Hidilyn Diaz, the weightlifting wonder from Zamboanga City, the priciest metal in sports ended a 97-year gold drought for the Philippines in the quadrennial Games. I wrote this one day before Carlo Paalam was to gun…

By Al S. Mendoza   TOKYO will now go down in history as the repository of our first Olympics gold medal. There’s more. It is there where we produced the first Filipino female athlete to rewrite the books multiple times. Hidilyn Diaz, take a bow. Hidilyn’s golden victory in weightlifting…

By Al S. Mendoza   (My deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Raffy Baraan, one of the most sincere sons of Pangasinan.  Upon my suggestion, Raffy fathered the Pangasinan Literary Awards.  Rest in peace, my friend.  You will be missed.) *          *          *          * I’M writing this…

By Al S. Mendoza    SIX days from today on July 23, the pandemic-postponed Olympics will blast off in Tokyo. We have 19 entries in the Summer Games originally set in 2020 until COVID-19 interrupted its staging. They will join some 11,000 athletes from more than 205 countries seeking fame…