No fairytale ending

I may sound a little crazy, but I was still hoping that Michael Schumacher could pull a miracle early Monday (RP time) in the Brazilian Grand Prix so that he can retire with a bang.

The only way Schumi could have wrapped up the drivers' championship was for him to win the race and for Fernando Alonso not to finish.

It never happened. While Schumi looked pretty strong during the first qualifying session, his car did him during the second that forced him to start somewhere in the middle of the grid and not in front where he could have had a better chance for a fairytale finish.

When I managed to pry my eyes open, it was already midway through the race and Schumi was somewhere at tenth position.

I wanted to turn the TV off and just sleep, but it was a very important race for people like me who got hooked to Formula-1 racing because of Schumacher. It was going to be his swan song as he is retiring at the end of the season. The season would end once the checkered flag is waved in Sao Paulo.

The way Schumi fought his way through the racers in the last 20 or so laps of the race was nothing less than spectacular.

Obviously nobody wanted to give him an easy time as a tribute since it was his final race and Schumi knew just that.

His overtaking maneuvers somehow gave us a flashback into a spectacular racing career that we were about to see come to a close.

Some may say that a fitting end would have been for Schumi to win the race and also the drivers' crown, but the way he raced in Brazil was just spectacular. It may not have been the fairytale finish that I secretly hoped, which I know other Schumi fans also did, but it was a great effort to close an amazing career.

I've written several weeks back that Formula-1 racing will never be the same again without Schumi. I surely hope not.

* * *

Yesterday, the tournament committee of Alta Vista Golf and Country Club held its initial meeting for the Christmas Fun Golf Classic.

The tournament is set on December 16 and 17 and will be an 18-hole event with only limited slots open.

There are still many details that have to be finalized like the registration fee and giveaways, but one thing that is interesting to note is that this early, several sponsors have already committed to support the event.

The tournament also serves as the club's Christmas celebration, which is the reason why it is open exclusively to members and guests of the sponsors only.

Present in the meeting were club director Ramon U. Sebastian, who will also be the chairman of the tournament, and his members Boy Gonzalez, Rodolfo 'Papa Rod' Señido, Rolly Santos, Michael Lim, Jonathan Yu, GM Tessa Ozoa, and Celeste Abellana.

More details will be announced after the committee's second meeting on November 7.

* * *

I'd like to call on graduates and those who spent at least a schoolyear in any La Salle school to sign up for the La Salle-Ateneo Golf Tournament, which is taking place on November 22 and 23 at the Cebu Country Club.

Interested golfers can send me e-mail through [email protected] to confirm your participation or to request for additional details.

I hope to hear from you the soonest since we also need to put up a team for the matchplay event against the Blue Eagles.