BARELY two weeks have passed since his title changed from “Congressman” to “Senator” and now we hear this news: Pacquiao is fighting.
Mike Limpag, my fellow columnist and our sports editor on these back pages, said it best last Thursday: “But with Arum shopping (And oh, that is so perfect a term) for the right opponent for Manny, he’d said yes in a jiffy, Senate job be damned.”
Didn’t Manny promise us that his UD win over Timothy Bradley last April 9 was his last? I thought Manny was more of a sportsman than a politician? Like many politicos, he’s promised and lied.
“Manny wants to come back,” said Bob Arum in an article by ace writer Dan Rafael. “The problem is he can only come back if it doesn’t interfere with his senate duties.”
Yeah, right. Here he is again, juggling two professions instead of focusing on one. And it’s not like the list of opponents that he’s scheduled to face are world-renowned.
According to Arum, the three nominees include Jessie Vargas, Danny Garcia and the winner of the Viktor Postol and Terence Crawford bout. Who are these guys?
The newbie senator — who, in boxing years, turns a very old 38 this December and who placed a “disappointing” No. 7 in the senate’s Top 12 — should concentrate on fighting for the Pinoy in the senate than fighting for himself.
TOUR DE FRANCE. The past few nights, I’ve been fascinated watching the 103rd edition of Le Tour. No, the excitement doesn’t compare to the Lance Armstrong days (when we were all fooled by the world’s greatest sporting cheat). But one man has made this year’s 3,529 km. contest riveting.
Chris Froome. He’s a two-time TdF champion who’s poised to win his third when the race finishes in Champs-Elysees in Paris this July 24.
The frenzy started when he won Stage 8 by a daredevil move — descending while hunched right in front of his bike’s frame, pedaling furiously with a funny long-legged stance — at speeds that exceed 80 kph. Yes, no misprint there. The 31-year-old Kenyan-born British rider barreled down the French mountains at over 80 kph.
“Sometimes you take opportunities and sometimes you have to make them,” he said. “Everyone says we’re predictable so we said this year let’s be unpredictable and make people guess what we’re going to do.”
Boy, was that scary. But it made Froome victorious and allowed him to wear the yellow jersey — reserved for the leader of the 21-stage event.
Not content with his slim lead, on Stage 11 he leads a breakaway that included Peter Sagan. They dropped his closest rivals. And the highlight of the race thus far: Froome getting entangled in a small collision in Stage 12 and having to run 50 seconds without his bike (was this a triathlon?). He gets overtaken by his pursuants and loses the yellow jersey — only for that result to be overturned as the organizers firmly plant him at the top of the leaderboard. Finally, two nights ago, he places second in the time-trial to further enhance his lead.
Imagine Froome winning Le Tour later this month then winning gold in Rio during the Olympics. Very, very likely.
HALF-IRONMAN. Only 21 days are left before the Cobra IM 70.3 race once again fires off in Mactan. If you’ll notice dozens and dozens more biking in Balamban or Danao, these are triathletes getting ready for that grueling August 7 morning.
While the Rio Olympics begin on Aug. 5, two days later, it’s the swim-bike-run craze in Cebu.
Why do so many join? Because it’s a challenge. It’s a goal that was previously unattainable that’s become reachable. It’s a target that has contributed to the weight loss of hundreds. It’s non-swimmers who brave the open sea and freestyle their way past the waves. It’s runners who never owned a bike who now pedal 100K. It’s being part of a festival. It’s bonding with friends who share the passion for fitness. It’s absorbing suffering and pain and treating those two as friends.
(john@pages.ph)