Yes, it’s a joke

From humble beginnings in Mindanao, he rose to prominence thru the years.  By sheer hard work, persistence and focus, he etched his name in stone.  From the dirt poor to the filthy rich, his name is familiar.  Nationwide, worldwide and maybe galaxywide, he is famous.

Titles, accolades and tons of money that has become the envy of the nation’s tax agency, poured in because he is the best at what he does.  Sure, he had some failures, but those were very few and far between.

The road to victory is not well-paved and DPWH had nothing to do with his path.  Obstacles and speed bumps are aplenty in the form of double-meaning advisers, relations and whoever are taking advantage of fame and fortune.

Instead of focusing on a single vocation, numerous avocations materialized.  Focus was not the same, not as concentrated as before because of several distractions yet, by some luck and mostly thru pure talent, success came.

He is a prize fighter by nature and is a very good one, if not the best in his category.  Opponents thrown at him, whether big names or has-beens, fall down like flies.  Yes, he gets his fair share of welts and bruises but almost always, he gets the last laugh.  He’s in his mid-30s now, might be having some hard starts but he continues to be lethal.  If only he had just stuck to fighting.

Either ill-advised or gullible or both, he ventured into other fields not exactly suited for him.  He became an actor and had some movies.  He became a singer and recorded some songs.  He became a product endorser with some having amusing results.  But endorsing products from Nike and having his own line is no laughing matter.

Riding on fame and popularity, he handily won over a grizzled politician, a seat in the house of congress that he seldom sets foot in.  Members tolerate his vanishing act because, hey, sometimes the gathering of baboons is a circus act.

If you can be a congressman, why not be a man of God?  Lo and behold, ditching the rosary that he usually wears before his fights and choosing to forget how to make the sign of the cross, he became a preacher.   He got holy with fists of fury.

He is a big basketball fan, supports and maintains several teams in the provinces.  Not content, he made himself available in the Philippine Basketball Association’s rookie draft, expectedly got drafted and, goodness gracious, became the playing-coach of a PBA expansion team.

Why on God’s green earth did the PBA draft him defies a logical explanation.  A younger and more promising prospect could have been drafted instead.  A more deserving player on the team could have been given the playing time.  The league could have been spared as being branded as... whatever.

It took a frustrated Daniel Orton, an American import, to state the obvious.  For speaking out, the league rewarded him with a hefty fine.  His team went further and banished him for “insulting” a player.   Really?  The league has a coach whose words are like venom yet they’re lenient on him.

Orton should know what he’s talking about and has all the reasons to rant on the comedy happening in the PBA.  Having played in the NBA and the Chinese Basketball League, it is easy for him to see if that guy on the court, playing in uniform is for real.

Management defended Orton’s banishment with this statement, “Everyone is angry at him.  It’s like he went to the US and insulted the name of Martin Luther King  Jr.”  Say what?  As in the whole republic is angry at Orton?  Someone should shake the cobwebs out of these people’s heads.  And saying a boxer is not a good basketball player is like badmouthing a civil rights crusader killed for his beliefs?  Are they serious?  It’s like comparing the Pope with Bin Laden.

The truth hurts and the PBA was stung.  They found a scapegoat, fined and banished him from the league to prevent other like-minded individuals from saying what exactly are on their minds.  Orton was just being honest, not insulting.  Manny Pacquiao playing professional basketball is a joke.  The biggest joke of all is the PBA drafting him.  Abso-freaking-lutely.

I’m with the PacMan 1,000 percent when it comes to boxing and even if they say this early that Floydie is the heavy favorite, damn, my money will always be with Manny.  To borrow a line from fellow sportswriter Mike Limpag, “If Manny can play pro basketball, I can fight Mayweather.”

Manny has agreed to everything that Mayweather demanded – drug tests, fight venue, weight limit, purse split, revenue shares, billing rights, etcetera  An American friend complained why he’s agreeing to everything that Floyd said.  Manny’s reply, “Back home, we give everything to anyone before an execution.”  Hala, patay kang Floyd ka.