TnF: Frank is the man

Frank Gatdula has never missed a single year in the 12 years that the Tour ni Frank, the eponymous bike race he has organized, has been run.

He would come over early January ride his bike and lose some of the holiday excess he got from the holidays. I‘ve never seen someone as passionate about cycling and the TnF than Frank, a social worker originally from Compostela and now a Social Worker and part-time DJ in Sacramento, California.

The TnF would have never taken off had Frank not been pointed to my office by Sammy Sy at the now defunct ASP Cycle Haus at the recently torn down City Center along Junquera. And as they say the rest is history.

The 12th edition has a different format. Gone are the Crit and the Calvary-like Trans-central Highway. Instead, day 1 will be a climb from JY Square to Buak while day 2 is a 140km road race, Danao-Bogo-Danao. But road repairs going to Bogo and the non-stop rain has made it dangerous to proceed to the northern town. So, the decision was made to make km78, or around Barangay Ilihan as the turning point. The race distance has been reduced by almost a third but still, it’s not an easy race. Best bets are Romeo Camongao of Excellent Noodles and local boy Amon Espinosa.

There will be no lucky or moral winners here, as far as I’m concerned. Only the strong will win.

Broncosvs 49ers for

 Super Bowl XLVIII?

The knock on Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning is that he’s not that good in the playoffs, with a career 10-11 win-loss record and only one Super Bowl. During the regular season, Manning is a beast, especially in this 2013-14 season. He broke both the touchdown record and the most passing yards this year and still counting. But unless he beats his nemesis, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, then he’ll be remembered more for his playoffs debacles than his awesome records.

By this time, the outcome of the American Football Conference Championships will be known and I won’t hide my preference, I hope that the Broncos will prevail over the Pats.

Later this morning, the Seattle Seahawks will host the San Francisco 49ers. While I would like to cheer the Seahawks because of Fil-Am wide receiver Doug Baldwin, I’ll hitch my wagon on the 49ers. I think 49er’s QB Colin Kaepernick has the better offense than the Seahawks, who will be without #1 receiver Percy Harvin due to a concussion protocol. While the Seahawks have the best running back in the playoffs with the almost unstoppable Marshawn Lynch, and their #1 defense, I don’t think that they can stop the 49ers. However, I think that the Seahawks fans will make a difference in this game. If you don’t know it yet, it is the loudest ever in the NFL with a recorded loudness of 137 decibels. Remember, that you can get a serious hearing damage with 110 decibels!

These days, I haven’t been watching TV or the NBA (and the Laker’s demise played a bit of a role) that much. With the NFL, I force my body to get up 4 on Monday mornings and go to work late, just to catch the first game on TV.

If you think the NBA is exciting, don’t watch the NFL. Or allegiances will change.