A big week for golf

I don’t want to rub it in, but to those who thought the Orlando Magic would pull one over the Lakers, I wish you the best next year.

I am not a fan of the Lakers although I always have a soft spot for Phil Jackson having coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s, but then it was obvious after the first game of the Finals that the Lakers would win it.

I even thought for a while that Orlando might get swept again, but thanks to that win in overtime, they franchise logged its first and only won game in two appearances in the NBA Finals.

All is not lost though as there is always the next season to look forward to. The same goes for this deadline beater who hopes to see some light for the San Antonio Spurs.

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This is a big week for golf. 

A big one in Cebu because of The View Invitational 2009, which tees off at Alta Vista Golf and Country Club on Thursday and will run until Sunday.

It is also a big one the world over as the US Open, one of the four Majors, tees off also on Thursday to Sunday at Bethpage Black in New York.

In The View Invitational we’ll see some of the biggest names in Cebu golf as well as their partners from nearby clubs and even those from other provinces and countries.

In the US Open, we will see the world’s best and I hope that Tiger Woods would clinch his 15th Major and come closer to the record 18 Majors of Jack Nicklaus.

Well, there’s going to be lots of golf in the daylight and at night to keep us hooked.

I got wind of my tee time yesterday afternoon and it seems that I’ll definitely have the time to watch the US Open action on TV.

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With Father’s Day set to be celebrated this Sunday, I’ll be writing some tidbits about fathers and their children, who I had a chance to write about in my 20 years and three months with The Freeman.

During my early days as a sportswriter, I did an article about Gene Faelnar, the motocross wonder boy, who was making waves in the national scene with the full backing of his father Eugenio ‘Jing-jing’ Faelnar. 

I found an old picture of my interviewing Jing-jing in one of my albums and so much surely have changed since then. Gene is now executive director of the Cebu City Sports Commission, and Jing-jing is now a ex-officio member of the Cebu City Council as president of the Association of Barangay Councils of Cebu City.

Early in my days of sportswriting, another favorite father and son tandem that I wrote about were Johnny and Ira Kiener, who were literally making waves in the sport of jet ski racing.

During the early 1990s, their resort, Kalingaw, was like the haven for the sport. I got to meet the guys a couple of months ago, but at the golf course and not anymore at the beach.

I’ll have more about these dads and kids in the next few columns.

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Milestones: Belated birthday greetings go to Giandi Pages, Paul Pereyra and Cherrypie T. Callelero, who all turned a year older last Monday.

The same goes to my fraternity brother Raymund ‘Jiggy Jr.’ Cerna of Y101, businesswriter Willy Rodolfo III and Charo Gabutin, who all celebrated yesterday. Jiggy actually had an advanced celebration last Monday when his team, the Lakers, won the NBA title.

Today’s birthday celebrants are Gerry Malixi of Genergex and my former schoolmate Arabelle Panganiban-Noel.

More power to all of you!