Football & chess deliver for the country By Al S. Mendoza   WE just had a double-barreled celebration. One, our women’s football team advanced to the prestigious Asian Football Confederation proper—a first for the country. This is a watershed in Philippine sports. Football not being popular among Filipino women, the…

Mainly now, money is what makes Pacquiao fight By Al S. Mendoza   IT is a given that every boxer fights mainly for money. Only a hypocrite will deny that. Why would a boxer not endure pain in exchange for money? No pain, no gain. In fact, with some luck,…

Fernandez & Pacquiao grab sports headlines By Al S. Mendoza   TWO screaming sports stories this week: One, Ramon Fernandez did not make an empty threat, proceeding to sue Jose “Peping” Cojuangco for libel. Two, Manny Pacquiao is fighting Jeff Horn of Australia after all. Fernandez filed the case in…

Patience, my dear By Al S. Mendoza   President Duterte loves to repeat himself. “You destroy my country and I will kill you,” he’d tell his audiences in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. As always, poker-faced. Always, he’d swear to kill the country’s drug addicts. “I love my country very much…

Fernandez versus Cojuangco By Al S. Mendoza   AS I write this, Ramon Fernandez was poised to sue Jose “Peping” Cojuangco for libel. Fernandez, 63, one of four commissioners in the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), resented Cojuangco’s public accusation calling him “a game fixer.” Cojuangco, 82, hurled the charge in…

Pacquiao for president in 2022 By Al S. Mendoza   YOU talk about boxing and Manny Pacquiao is there. You talk about the Senate and Manny Pacquiao is there. You talk about the Philippine Basketball Association and Manny Pacquiao is there. Is there any other topic that doesn’t include Manny…

Enjoy Pacquiao without his boxing gloves By Al S. Mendoza     FIRST, Terrence Crawford was what the public wanted. Crawford would be the perfect match for Manny Pacquiao because the American isn’t only good but the hottest in the business as well. After two easy wins for Pacquiao, the…

The Senate’s most dangerous person By Al S. Mendoza   NOT only is Manny Pacquiao a newly-minted senator of the republic. There’s more to that than meets the eye Any angle you look at it, that’s another feather to his cap. From a poor boy to not only a world…

De Lima dangerously becoming a loose cannon By Al S. Mendoza   LEILA de Lima went ballistic again. Her target? Who else but President Duterte? Strangely, though, the President ignored De Lima. Not even a whimper from the chief Palace occupant. Result: The story that was De Lima’s outrage was…

Gordon’s own brand of circus By Al S. Mendoza   THE circus is on. And I see no immediate ending to it. For, haven’t you noticed? All we get is a litany of nonsense and stupidity from Dick Gordon’s Blue Ribbon committee hearings. This has got to end or our…