I'm in Manual Magazine's December 2008-January 2009 Issue!

I'm very happy to share that the feature on Manual Magazine on bloggers where I'm a part of is now out on newsstands. The feature appears on the December 2008-January 2009 issue, which is dubbed as their "Blog Issue" as it focuses on blogs, social media and bloggers.

Here's some photos I took of the magazine:

My feature appears on page 19 and I apologize if the interview text is not readable from the photo I posted-- but it's essentially about my thoughts on social media and blogging. Do grab a copy  if you're interested in reading finely written articles on the blogging phenomenon in the the Philippines and other interesting topics.

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In addition to the photos above, I do have some thoughts on Manual Magazine's Blog issue:

• A Little Back Story on Manual Magazine's December 2008-January 2009 Issue
• Carpe diem! Memento mori!
  

Technorati: Manual Magazine

Lakers Clobber Warriors

What's the best way to follow up the Los Angeles Lakers' biggest regular season game of 2008? A blow-out win would definitely be one of them.

The Lakers battled the Golden State Warriors in virtual target shooting game and handily won over the latest team to beat the defending champs Boston Celtics. The Lakers won 130-113, a final score that kinda looks like one from the high-scoring 1980's. The 130 points is currently the highest point total for the Lakers this season, with contributions from Kobe Bryant (31 points), Derek Fisher (19 points) and Sasha Vujacic (17 points). All the Lakers who played in the game scored at least two points.

The fourth quarter was virtually garbage time-- heck there was even a Sun Yue sighting towards the end of the game and pine-rider Josh Powell had extended PT in the closing quarter

BTW, this game is the last for the Lakers in 2008.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Yi Jianlian still 3rd Forward in All-Star Votes

Continuing my campaign to get New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian to become a starter in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, I am happy to report that he is still third in the voting for the starting forward position in the Eastern Conference.

In the latest NBA All-Star voting returns, Yi has amassed 762,162 votes. This figure has exceeded his votes last season. Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett only leads Yi by approximately 140,000 votes for the second starting forward slot.

140,000 votes would be easy to overcome once the votes from China and Asia would be pouring in. We may see the first All-Star game with not one, but two Asian starters. :D

So support the Yi Jianlian to the 2009 All-Star Game by casting your votes now!


Tags: NBA

Lakers Snap Celtics 19-Game Winning Streak

Christmas Day 2008 for Lakers fans just got a whole lot better.

In the first meeting of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics after the 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers used a fourth quarter run to beat the Celtics, 92-83. The game was tied with two minutes left in the game, but clutch baskets by Pau Gasol gave the Lakers the cushion they needed to end the Celtics' franchise record winning streak of 19 games.

Ironically, the Lakers won playing the Celtics' grind-it-out game, playing good defense and not letting the Celtics slashers waltz their way to the paint. Lakers center Andrew Bynum and Gasol patrolled the paint, leading the team's interior defense. The defense resulted in 9 blocked shots. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

If the game was a preview of the NBA Finals next year, I'm definitely looking forward to it. The Lakers displayed they can defend the paint and make plays down the stretch against a formidable team like the Celtics. I was doubting the Lakers' effort this month with the losses to teams like the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, but the win erases any doubts for the moment.

So, can we just skip the regular season and start the playoffs? :P


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Photo by Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

What Shoe will Kobe Bryant Wear in the Celtics Game?

In what could be the most anticipated regular season game of 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics will face for the first time since the Celtics dominated the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals (Fine, I'll give the Celts that)

Other aspects of the game to be subject to much anticipation, including the footwear the stars will be wearing that game. For Lakers star Kobe Bryant, he will be wearing a special Christmas colorway of his newly launched Nike Zoom Kobe IV. The shoe will feature the forum blue and gold of the Lakers' color scheme, but will include red shoe laces to commemorate Christmas. (Well, not the best of combinations, but the shoe's design makes it work).

Here's a photo of the shoe Kobe Bryant will wear in the game:

Tags: Kobe Bryant

Lakers now on a 2-Game Losing Streak

The Los Angeles Lakers are now on a two-game losing streak.

First it was a stinking loss to the Miami Heat, then it was another nail-biter in Orlando against the Orlando Magic.

The common denominator in both losses? Shots that were almost in that went out.

In the Miami game, Kobe Bryant's jumper in the lane that could have sent the game into overtime went out. Then in the game against the Magic, it was Sasha Vujacic's three-ball at the dying seconds of the game bounced a couple of times before the ball decided it's home was not the hoop.

While both losses were definitely heart-breakers, one has to think how the Lakers are now finding themselves scrapping and scrambling for wins, as opposed to the cakewalks in the fourth quarter last month.My opinion is that the Lakers are relaxing because they were able to see what they are capable of during their dominating November stretch. Knowing they can probably "turn it on" during February and March, the Lakers have simply stopped playing defense and are playing selfishly.

Fist it was the blown leads, now it's the losses. Things are not looking good in La-La Land, considering a rampaging Boston Celtics team would be visiting on Christmas Day.

I'm seeing a Christmas Day massacre.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Photo by Reinhold Matay / Associated Press

5 Best Players in the NBA that Did Not Win the MVP Award

I was reading this article from Sports Illustrated, where it says that Steve Nash is done in Phoenix. Well, done in the sense that he's a shell of his former MVP self. The comments of the people were generally pointed to the opinion that Steve Nash was not an MVP-caliber player ever. He was good for a brief stretch, but if you look at his career, it's hardly one for the NBA greats.

So it got me thinking, "Who were the MVP-caliber players to never have won the MVP award?" Here's my all-time list of players who have played in the last decade that never won the regular season MVP award:

1. Jason Kidd
2. LeBron James
   
3. Tracy McGrady
   
4. Chris Webber*
5. Gary Payton*

* - Retired


Tags: NBA

Kobe's Shot Rims Out, Lakers Lose to Heat

!$#%$$@#!

The Los Angeles Lakers don't seem to have luck on their side during close games these days.

On a game where the Miami Heat all of a sudden played like the 2006 version of themselves, the Lakers were down two points, 89-87, six seconds on the clock. Kobe Bryant got the ball near the top of the key, with Heat forward Shawn Marion defending him. Kobe dribbled for a few seconds then drives right, did a behind the back crossover dribble and faded to the left elbow with a Jordanesque jumper falling away. The ball looked flat when Kobe released it, but had a good line. It was a bit long and but bounced a little bit to the middle, with the net ready to swish.

But then the ball took an extra bounce and the ball jumped out of the hoop. Lakers lose on the same score.

Early this month, the Lakers lost on a last second shot. Talk about tough luck.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

December 25: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers

December 25 is no doubt a very special day all over the world-- it's the day we celebrate Christmas.

But for the Los Angeles Lakers and Lakers fans all over the world, it's a day that gets circled on everyone's calendar. It's the day the Lakers' long-time nemesis and recent tormentor, the Boston Celtics, will be paying a visit to the Staples Center.

At this point, the Lakers still need to face the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, the Memphis Grizzlies and the New Orleans Hornets before they actually play the Celtics. Fine, that's still four games with two major opponents (the Magic and the Hornets), but can't we just skip that and go straight to December 25?

The match-up is much anticipated because the changes both the teams had after the 2008 NBA Finals.The Celtics lost James Posey while the Lakers got Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza back into their lineup. The Celtics starters of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo (called the Fantastic Four as of late) have been stellar, whereas the Lakers have been beating teams on their depth. (If you can afford to put Vladimir Radmanovic as your third-stringer forward, then you gotta be deep, right?)

Finally, it may well be a game of defense versus offense: the Lakers have been defeating teams by outscoring them, the Celtics the opposite. But we all know which way wins championships.

One final note: the game will be played on LA's home turf, and I think will be the X-factor.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Launches Nike Zoom Kobe IV

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant unveiled last week his new signature shoe from Nike. Dubbed as Nike Zoom Kobe IV, the shoe boasts of a lighter, high performance material, even lighter than the much acclaimed Hyperdunk.

According to the story, Kobe asked the Nike designers to come up with a very lightweight shoe that's cut low. The Nike folks took up the challenge and used the innovations from previous shoes, the Flywire (from the Hyperdunk shoe) and the LunarLite cushioning system. The resulting shoe was the lightest low-cut Nike sneaker ever made-- 13 ounces!

The Nike Zoom Kobe IV will be available in retail in 2009.

Here's a video clip of last week's webcast of the Nike Zoom Kobe IV launch:




Tags: Kobe Bryant

At 18-3, Lakers' Record Looks Deceiving

An 18-3 win-loss record is impressive in the NBA, by any measure. But if you're looking at the Los Angeles Lakers on how they been playing lately, it's really an inflated record.

If you ask me, the Lakers should be 15-6, because there are three games the Lakers should have lost based on their play. The team has been blowing leads, exchanging baskets with opponents and simply not taking care of the ball. I don't see the separation the Lakers had from the rest of the league during the first weeks of the season. I honestly can't see them miles and miles away from the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets and the upcoming Portland Trailblazers. The Lakers struggled to get a win against a decimated Phoenix Suns team.

The Lakers played well in the season's two weeks thats why they're ahead in the West. Yes, they're scraping wins from the league, but let's see once the big guns (Read: Boston Celtics & Cleveland Cavaliers) come to town.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Photo by Lori Shepler, Los Angeles Times

WTF?!? Lakers Lose to Kings

The current Sacramento Kings team must have channeled the fighting spirit of previous Kings team that had a heated rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000's. Yeah, I'm talking about the Doug Christie, Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, Nick Anderson and Mike Bibby teams that battled Shaq, Kobe and Co. for the Western Conference supremacy.

The Lakers fell flat against the Kings for their third loss of the season, 113-103. And their worst one at that. What makes this a really frustrating game is that the Lakers' worst defeat had to come from a team that hard time winning the past few weeks. Yes, I'm talking NBA draft lottery bad.

But it was the Lakers that looked like a team with no direction as they squandered a small first half lead, play bad defense, let perimeter players waltz in the paint and turn over the ball countless times. There was a play in the game where Lamar Odom turned the ball over after carelessly, and I thought that was what happened-- the Lakers let this game slip away from their grasp.

People may have jumped the gun on the Lakers when they were demolishing opponents by 20 points and going on a 7-game winning streak last month. The Lakers that I've been seeing the past couple of weeks is a team that squanders big leads, plays porous defense and careless with the ball.

Let's see if the Lakers can bounce back in their game against the Phoenix Suns. Or will this next game mark the team's first losing streak?


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe will Launch the Nike Zoom Kobe IV via Webcast

Kobe Bryant, 10-time NBA All-Star and the NBA's reigning MVP, will be launching his new shoe from Nike this December 11, 2008 (Thursday), 4pm ET via Webcast.

The new shoe, dubbed as the Nike Zoom Kobe IV, will follow the unconventional path the series Kobe shoes have taken since its first version in 2006. The shoe will be unveiled to the public via an interactive Webcast where none other than Kobe Bryant will be answering questions submitted by the audience.

If you wish to participate in this Webcast, save this URL: http://www.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event_id=66c5a41f01b25e447b2a350b1888f563&portal_id=6e8dfe78ceee74a406ea4a5733d0ee30.


Tags: Kobe Bryant

Yi Jianlian to the All-Star Team!

The NBA All-Star Game is all about the fans. That's why we saw Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets start over former Laker Shaquille O'Neal at his prime. That's also why we saw Tracy McGrady start over Steve Nash in the latter's first MVP season. It's a system that's far from perfect, but it makes the fans happy.

That's why I am inviting everyone all over the blogosphere to make history again: Let's put the New Jersey Nets' Yi Jianlian to the 2009 NBA All-Star Team! If the West Team benefited with Yao in the starting spot for the good portion of this decade, then it's only appropriate to start a new tradition on the East Team-- Yi Jianlian to the All-Star Team!

Who wants a Kevin Garnett or LeBron James in the All-Star Game as starters? Yi Jianlian is the perfect ambassador to a game that's truly emerging as a global sport. I want to see Yi don the Eastern Conference All-Star jersey this coming February in Phoenix. If you want that to happen to, vote Yi Jianlian in at NBA.com!

Remember: Yi Jianlian as an All-Star = NBA a global game!


Tags: NBA

Photo by Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger

Los Angeles Lakers #2 in Forbes' Most Valuable Teams List

The Los Angeles Lakers were valued by Forbes as the second most valuable team in the NBA for 2008.

Based on the team valuations made by Forbes for all the 30 teams, the Lakers were pegged at US$ 534 million. Here's the breakdown:

1. $123 million or 23% comes from the earnings from the league's shared profits
   
2. $240 million or 41% comes from the value of the city's market size
   
3. $140 million or 24% comes from the stadium earnings (ticket sales, merchandise, food, etc.)
   
4. $81 million or 14% is attributed to the team's brand
   

Why is the breakdown interesting? The most interesting point for me is the fourth point or the team's brand. It is valued at a staggering $81 million. If you look at the other NBA teams in the Forbes top 10 list, most of teams' brand valuation is pegged between $40 million-$55 million.

Now what does that mean? It means that the Lakers have the strongest brand as far as NBA teams go. It's like the Lakers are the Coca-Cola of the NBA, and the rest could be Pepsi or Dr. Pepper.

What's the #1 valued team? The New York Knicks. They got there because of the city's market size and stadium earnings.

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

MVP Talk

Kobe Bryant won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award last season with stats far inferior than his 2005-2006 season (where he averaged an insane 35.4 points/game) or even his 2006-2007 season (where he got a statline that would make fantasy GM's drool: 32 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists).

This young NBA season, Kobe's stats are as low as ever (25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists). He's shooting an abysmal 25% from the 3-point line and getting to the line far much less than he used to. But the Los Angeles Lakers are off to one of the franchise's best starts and Kobe is playing more efficiently-- he's shooting his best FG% in his career and his turnovers are the lowest in five years. Maybe it's the reduced minutes, but Kobe has managed to stay in MVP discussions despite the sub par stats.

The only person I would consider as the MVP apart from Kobe would be the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James. He has better stats across the board (27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) plus the Cavs are playing great ball in the Eastern Conference.

What about Paul Pierce? Nah.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

Damn You, Troy Murphy!

Ugh!

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the struggling Indiana Pacers on a freakin' tip-in by Troy Murphy on the very last second. Final score? 118-117.

After the third quarter, the Lakers were poised to walk away with another win leading by 15 points. Then what happened? They were outscored 32-16 in the last quarter! I've seen this lack of defense from the team coming-- the Lakers have not been playing well at all despite riding a winning streak.

I guess I'm eating my words right now after predicting that the Boston Celtics will lose before the Los Angeles Lakers.

Damn you, Troy Murphy!


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers Will Never Get Respect...

...Until they beat the Boston Celtics this season.

Yep, as superb as the Los Angeles Lakers have been in their first 15 games, the Lakers still have a cloud hanging over them. A cloud that thunders "blow-out loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals."

Being a Lakers fan, that loss was pretty hard to take. I would imagine the media and basketball pundits not letting the Lakers off the hook unless they exorcise the ghosts of Celtics Past.


Tags: Los Angeles Lakers