Cebu Football

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 26 issue ) A FEW years ago, Fifa blamed the rising number of diving incidents on professional players whose dives in big matches were imitated by amateur players. The pros got away with it, so, those who idolize them started copying their antics.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 21 edition) FROM the days when the only way you could watch a World Cup match live is a girlie bar, now, it seems everybody’s got the World Cup fever. And that’s fine by me. Just be careful though and don’t make the same mistake like the fan who said she’s going to cheer for Spain because of Ronaldo. And, just like in the old days, we have to sacrifice sleep to catch the games live but now, we can do it at home.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 16 edition) WE CAN compete internationally in the youth levels, it’s only in the 16-Under age group that we begin to lag.” That was what Philippine Football Federation technical director Aries Caslib said during the PFF Board of Governors meeting in Cebu in 2011, when he laid out the plans for the development of grassroots football just weeks after the country’s consciousness was raised because of the Miracle in Hanoi by the Azkals.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 14 edition) ONE of my major frustrations in life is failing to learn chess. That wonderful game where brains—and brawn in the higher levels—are needed. I got a chess book when I was in third or fourth grade and tried to learn the game by myself. After mastering the notations, I replayed some of the games the book had and realized I couldn’t understand half of it. The symbol “!” is supposed to denote a good move, and I couldn’t even understand why some of the moves had that symbol.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 9 issue) RIGHT now, one of the most hated sports personalities in the planet is LeBron James. Just check out the comments on social media, especially after his inglorius exit in Game 1 of the NBA finals. Folks even take to duplicating James being carried off after suffering from cramps.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 7 issue) IT’S the time of the year again when productivity dips and almost everyone’s eager for a wager or two. Employees—especially fanatics—suddenly find excuses not to do the things they usually do for a couple of hours or so, or worse, even fail to show up for work before noon at all. It’s the NBA finals and for this basketball-crazy nation, nothing much matters else when it’s game time. Just check how everyone’s becoming experts these days, or how everyone is heckling the favorite player they hate.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 5 edition) A COUPLE of months ago, Sen. Pia Cayetano warned school leagues to drop the two-year residency rule or face the prospect of having the Senate do it for them. As usual, when it comes to important matters that needed to be acted upon, school leagues failed to act, and now the Senate will do it for them, approving on third reading Senate Bill No. 2226 or the Student-Athletes Protection Act.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 2 edition) THERE are going to be so many heartbreaks. That’s what happens in sports and for sports fans. Real life isn’t reel life. There are no last-minute goals or last-second dunks. There are no—cue in the background music and slow mo)—last minute heroics where the team you root for come from behind to win against the villainous team.