Is it true ( Part 2) - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

By insistent public demand, here’s a dose of more street-talk in another edition of our "Is it true" series. Last week’s "rumors" had a lot of readers calling and guessing. And those who felt alluded to quietly backed off from nosey sniffers.

So brace yourselves – here’s more.

Is it true that four so-called "Fil-Am" players in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) show the same signatory in their "original" birth certificates? Does that mean the four – who were born in different US states – were destined to play in the MBA? Imagine the uncanny coincidence of the same signatory in four birth certificates from four separate sources.

Is it true that a National Sports Association (NSA) President went to the Sydney Olympics just to collect his allowance for "attending" the games? Is it true that this official didn’t even bother to watch the athlete from his NSA perform?

Is it true that a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team has offered any one of its players plus a substantial amount of cash in a trade for the first-round pick of another club in next year’s draft? If that’s so, who’s the blue-chippers in the pool worth his weight in gold?

Is it true that a Fil-Am now playing in the PBA won’t be back in uniform next season because there is proof that he falsified his birth documents in getting clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ)?

Is it true that a Fil-Am not playing in the PBA is being held hostage by the DOJ for reasons you and I can only speculate on? Is it true that this Fil-Am’s birth papers are in order but some DOJ functionary is sitting on his papers… until the end of the year?

Is it true that a discredited Fil-Sham had an affair with the wife of a PBA star and it led to a bitter parting of ways? The Fil-Sham is gone and so is the PBA star’s marriage.

Is it true that some candidates in tomorrow’s POC elections are running as independents but were dragged into the ticket of a presidential bet without their consent?

Is it true that a popular player agent is spending more time with lawyers these days than watching games? Is it true that several of this agent’s clients are suing their MBA teams for non-payment of salaries?

Is it true that there’s a Filipino playing for the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) basketball varsity in the US? Is it true that this player is a shoo-in to make it in the National Basketball Association (NBA) someday?

Is it true that the Japanese wife of International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) President Anwar Chowdhry is the power behind the throne? Is it true that referees and judges pay homage to Chowdhry’s wife like she’s some kind of devil queen dispensing favors? Shades of Elizabeth Hurley in "Bedazzled." At the recent Sydney Olympics, is it true that the Chowdhrys determined the fate of fighters in the ring through remote control?

Is it true that Asi Taulava’s bank account is drying up and he’s begging to come back? The problem is he’s blacklisted by the Bureau of Immigration. So he’s barred from visiting here even as a tourist. He’ll be allowed back in if he produces foolproof documents authenticating his claim of Filipino roots. So far, Taulava hasn’t come up with anything that could lift the blacklist order.

That’s all for now – until Part 3.