Up early for football

Participation in sports events and watching sporting events on television are two of the best reasons to wake up even before the sun is up.

Before daybreak last Sunday, the UEFA Champions League final match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich, which was aired live on television, brought many fans of the world’s number one game in the Philippines out of their beds.

The match started at around 2:30 a.m. our time and ended when the sun was already up at past 5 a.m. with Chelsea’s players were receiving their championship medals and the champion’s trophy.

If there is one sport that brings many fans in the Philippines up on the wee hours of the morning, it is football.

It must be because the big games are mostly played in Europe where the time difference is shorter than that with the continental United States.

Football, though still thought of as a sport that the country is not giving too much attention to, has many followers, who would go out of their way to enjoy a great match even only on television.

Those who want to watch live matches, can head on to the University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus field, San Roque Parish Field, and the Springdale for the 12th Cebu Interclub Football Cup.

Action in the tournament continues until Sunday.

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Ronda Pilipinas, the country’s national cycling tour, will fire off tomorrow in General Santos and will span a total of 2,080.5 kilometers that will be covered in 15 legs for a period of 18 days.

Today’s opening event will be a team time trial. The event, which is bankrolled by LBC Express offers over P7.5 million in cash prizes.

It will pass through parts of Mindanao and then Eastern Visayas before heading to Luzon.

Cebu will be represented by a team backed by radio station Y101 FM.

As a big cycling fan since I was very young, I would again follow the Ronda Pilipinas and root for the Cebu team.

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Many call the team as old, but the San Antonio Spurs became the first to make it to the final four of the 2011-2012 season of the NBA after sweeping the Los Angeles Clippers in their Western Conference semifinals.

Up next for the Spurs, who have been winning since April 11, will be the Oklahoma City Thunder, which just disposed of the LA Lakers in their own series.

The picture on the East may seem that it will be Boston and Miami heading to the finals, but we cannot just easily discount the possibility of either the Philadelphia Sixers or the Indiana Pacers pulling upsets.

The Thunder is considered by many as a shoe in for the NBA Finals. I would say that it will be too early to count out the Spurs and although many say the team is boring, I am not too bored to keep on rooting for them.

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MILESTONES: Belated happy birthday greetings to Dexter Alazas, Cheryl Z. Ouano, Marites Chavez-Pernito, Rita Costales and Dir. Randy Pedroso of PDEA, who all turned a year older last Monday.

The same goes to those who celebrated yesterday like CAFC president Glenn Quisido and my squadmate and mistah Supt. Conrado P. Gongon of the PNP.

Today’s greetings go to another mistah, newly-promoted Col. Dennis Estrella of PAF, Globe’s Charo Logarta-Lagamon, Richard Alforque, Barry Canton, and Glenn Veloso.

More power to all of you!