Succeed with honor

CEBU - “Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.”

This is a quote from Joe Paterno, coach of the Pennsylvania State University college football team, who is one of four active coaches that have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

These words should be instilled in the minds of all those involved in sports most specially those who are handling children. With the Provincial Meet set to open this Sunday in the town of Liloan, issues on eligibility of athletes would again surface and this will lead up to the Palarong Pambansa, which is the ultimate destination of the athletes in this meet.

Despite the stiff penalties that have been slapped on those caught, many seem to want to win without honor and I hope their victory really tastes sweet.

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I had to look for this quote from among the pages of my desk sports calendar after we talked about cheating players during the tournament committee meeting of the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club the other day.

We’re deep in the preparations for the club’s Christmas Fun Golf event, which tees off on December 13 and 14.

While golf may be a “gentleman’s game,” there have been many issues on cheating that have marred the fun in many events in Cebu the past decade and a half that I have covered golf. Most of the time these are just hushed as the guilty ones are disqualified from tournaments or have been asked to return what they have won.

Some have been banned from the clubs and there is even a saying that goes like this: “If you are caught cheating in golf, you’ll take that bad reputation to your grave.”

Clubs take precautions to stop cheaters either by keeping them from doing it or making sure they are caught. One of the very ticklish issues is during tournaments where organizers sell “mulligans” to raise more funds or give to charity allowing those who paid the amount an extra shot or two during the round that could save them a stroke or two, but in many cases such don’t really translate to a better game.

The committee however has decided that there would be mulligans to make the event more fun.

However, if you get caught cheating in golf, most often you don’t get a mulligan to clear yourself, so avoid cheating.

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MILESTONES: I forgot to mention one very important person among those whose birthday I always celebrate on November 24, my late grandmother Paz Frasco Quiñones, who raised me after my father died when I was still seven years old.

Lola Paz may not have been present in many of the high points of my life, but she was always there to support me in many ways most especially when it came to making sure I was well-fed with the right food.

Also, my buddy Ruel de Guzman was another one of my close friends to have turned a year older last Monday. I’m looking forward to our next coffee break my friend. – THE FREEMAN