I HAVE just flown back from Tokyo.

Thank God, I’m safely home.

And Manny Pacquiao had just jetted out of Manila for Los Angeles, right?

Because I am back, I can resume writing my (alleged) columns with ease.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

For, despite technological advances, it’s still a bit hard doing them in another land. Mood swings usually come into play when totally new chairs cup you in.

The new pillows, and the new bed sheets?

No problem.

The minute I hit the sack after my nightly dose of poison (make that beer, wine and hard drink in that order), dreamland is just a snore away.

I was away one week covering the Tokyo Motor Show at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, Japan.

Yes, I am also into motoring journalism. Since I fathered the Motoring Section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 1991, there’s no stopping.

It’s both a thrill and fun covering both sports and motoring.

While sports makes you rub elbows with the stars of the game, motoring gets you up-close to both the latest cars and the futuristic vehicles that are in their concept stage.

Athlete and car: They’re similar in many ways. But that’s another story.

Back to Pacquiao.

While up there 37,000 feet in the sky, I imagined having waved at Pacman while imagining our two jets were crossing paths.

I said to myself: “C’mon, Pacman, go get Cotto!”

It’s been almost two months since he plunged to serious preparation in Baguio for the Nov. 15 fight that has clearly installed him heavy favorite to uncrown Cotto, the welterweight (147-lb.) champ from Puerto Rico.

With a win, Pacquiao will become the first to capture world boxing titles in seven weight divisions.

I’m not sure if I could go cover the fight in Las Vegas. If the bosses say I should, why not?

The last Pacman fight I covered was the third Pacquiao-Morales bout in 2006 in Las Vegas. Pacquiao knocked out Morales in the third.

I believe Pacquiao will also knock out Cotto. If not inside six rounds, three rounds.
Care for a couple of beers for my fearless forecast?

I’ll take care of the peanuts.

(alsol47@yahoo.com)