Sports in 2010

We have said goodbye to 2009 and all we have left are memories of sporting glory and anomaly. This year could be a good one for the sporting world, locally and internationally. Here’s what to expect, as per personal observations.

Football will be big this year, obviously, with the coming FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Germany, Argentina, Brazil and England will figure prominently in this tournament held every four years. Manchester United, sadly, will be relegated to the sidelines this time. Chelsea and Arsenal are the teams to beat in the EPL. AC Milan or Barcelona could be it in the EUFA Cup. RP football has hired a new English coach but with the silly habit of putting up a team at the last minute, we will still wallow in the quagmire of mediocrity.

It will be a Laker-Celtic finale this coming June. I could be wrong but with the way these two teams are playing, rivalry will again be renewed. Someday, somehow, the effect of Ron Artest’s freak Christmas day accident at his house could rattle his woozy head even more. Gilbert Arenas could be out for the season with his stupid gun stunt. With a $30 million Adidas deal and $111 million 5-year contract, threatening a teammate with a gun over a $25,000 card game bet is the ultimate height of idiocy. The NBA is not happy with this one.

The PBA will endure and the present crop of rookies are doing good, specially the Fil-Am Urbiztondo guy. The ABL should be restructured and their marketing people must introduce strategies and innovations to drum up more interest from the public. There are more empty seats than spectators during games. It could die a natural death. Locally, the CESAFI will still be a UV affair and they will dominate.

Tennis will be great. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will still be the marquee players but Juan Martin del Potro will show his stuff. With his size, he could well be on Argentina’s national basketball team. Serena Williams will be her formidable self but Kim Clijsters and Justin Henin will figure prominently.

The PacMan-Mayweather Jr. mega-buck fight will push thru. All this doping and drug testing B.S. is part of the hype. PacMan is boxing’s shining star and he should not let other misguided endeavors tarnish the glitter. We all have our limits. His movie at the Metro Manila Film Festival is way down low at the box office. The number one film has grossed over P90 million while his movie sunk with an excruciating P2 million plus in the tills on three-week run. Wapakman is now na lat-an. He could sink again this May at the polls. Just stick to boxing, my idol, you know.

Golf will not be the same without Tiger Woods and likewise, Tiger will never be the same with sponsors dropping him. After Gillete and Accenture, it’s now AT&T. The Texas-based telecommunications giant pulled the plug recently. Tag Heuer and Louis Vuitton reportedly will also downscale their ads. Don’t worry Tiger baby, Pfizer will make a wonder drug called “Tiagra”. They say it’s good for 18 holes.

Ah, UFC. Despite the lack of marquee fighters on last Sunday’s UFC 108, the matches were furious. Big name stars dropped out and replacements were replaced because of injuries. We will see more of mixed martial arts stars Georges St-Pierre, Frank Mir, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and BJ Penn. Brock Lesnar, the heavyweight champion we either love or hate is iffy with some kind of an intestinal tract problem. Our local URCC is slowly but surely getting a good following and this month’s promotion at CICC with at least two international bouts is a must-see for MMA fans.

It will be a good year for CEVA. The inaugural men’s volleyball tournament was a smashing success, literally. Past and present collegiate standouts showed us who’s who in this league. It’s a well-run group and new president Jun San Juan won’t find the going rough. Admittedly, the GUV Cup is the biggest V-league in the country and going on its sixth year is a testament to CEVA’s good organizational skills. Go Daddy Jun! Go Nona!

Best of all, 2010 will be a year of promise. As early as October of last year, promises that were meant to be broken were made and these promises will climax with a tsunami-like magnitude on May. I have done my fair share of promises and yes, have broken quite a few. I’m excited to be finally out of the intriguingly crazy world of politics and will try to concentrate more on this column which I happily found out, have a good number of followers. This I promise. Mor pa. HAPPY NEW YEAR!