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Monthly Archive for February, 2008

The Lakers’ stretch run

Published
by
Jayvee
on 21 February 2008
in Basketball
. 0 Comments

The most vital part of the regular season has already started.

Pau Gasol has already made his home debut as a Laker and it was successful as the Lakers thwarted the debut of Mike Bibby and the visiting Atlanta Hawks in a convincing fashion. And oh, they also beat Phoenix in Phoenix to take the season series, 3-1. That leaves the Lakers with 16 home games and 12 road games - with the Lakers facing many teams below .500. Although the Lakers won big-time in these games, there are still concerns over the health status and the trade machine in the Lakers’ camp. Several names for a new trade have been appearing, with Lamar Odom being the name which has been mentioned in new trade talks for a legit SF. Word is the Lakers front office is trying to get Caron Butler back. But I think though that the Wizards won’t bite. Practically speaking, the trade should not push through because the Lakers need all the big men that they can get for this stretch run. The West is loaded with big men…

…while the Lakers are very well aware that they are missing one big man in Andrew Bynum. His recovery timetable has been set aback, according to this source from ClubLakers.com. The source says that Phil Jackson mentions that Andrew Bynum’s recovery is not on schedule as planned. However, another media source is mentioning that Bynum should be ready by late March, just in time to get his rhythm back for the Playoffs. Trevor Ariza also has his recovery timetable messed up as he is about to miss another 8 weeks, making his grand total up to 12-16 weeks. It really sucks that we can’t have these players to enjoy with the Lakers’ success right now. Chris Mihm is also injured - but he is a hopeless case. He always finds a way to get injured.

Phil Jackson mentioned that the West is so loaded that 50 games won’t get it done for the top seed. So he says that the Lakers are targeting 25 more wins during the stretch run. Phil technically says that the Lakers need to win at least 60 games to have better chances of holding one of the top slots in the West - which in my opinion is very hard to do, but one that is doable. With offensive firepower, improved defense and a dependable bench all season long, the Lakers have already taken a step to achieve that goal. We also have the best player in basketball today. The team also will have a fairly easier schedule in the stretch run compared to the rest of the contenders in the West, given the fact that they have already battled most of the top contenders, including the huge 9-game road trip.

Kobe’s pinkie in his shooting hand is a concern though. He injured it in New Jersey and aggravated the thing in Minnesota in a rebound play against Rashad McCants. He skipped the Foot Locker Three Point Shootout and barely played in the All-Star Game. He has been constantly re-taping and icing the pinkie and has put some protection in the finger. It’s a concern because Kobe will obviously go to the basket and guys from the other teams will take shots at Kobe’s hand, and they will also try to take shots at Kobe’s injured pinkie. Especially in the watch list is Bruce Bowen. But Kobe seems to be fine. Well at least for now.

The Lakers are FOR REAL.

They did start the stretch run the right way anyway - posting wins over Atlanta and Phoenix. The Atlanta game was a total drubbing of Mike Bibby’s Atlanta debut. It was a no-contest from the first quarter. Lakers even led by as much as 41 points. The Phoenix game was impressive though. They won another big road game against a powerhouse. The best part of the game is that Kobe dropped 41 points on Shaq’s debut, with a injured pinkie and a pesky Raja Bell waiting for him. This was Kobe’s game for the taking and this game was also the coming-out party of the Lakers. The Lakers displayed great composure and resolve in this game. The Suns tried to rally several times but the Lakers just found every answer to the Suns’ desperate hopes to grab the upperhand in the tightly-contested game. These are the types of games that the Lakers really have to win out if they want to be an established playoff contender. The Lakers’ next games are at Clippers (which is basically a home game but considered a road game because the lights and flooring of the Clippers will be there), at Seattle, vs Portland, vs Miami, and at Portland - which are all winnable.

This is it - the stretch run. What the Lakers need to do now is to take care of business. Play smart and play aggressive. Play with Laker Pride. The same adages apply. They just need to do it the Lakers style - smooth and deadly. This team can reach 60 wins and go all the way to the championship with this lineup including Bynum and Ariza (and to some extent, yeah, Mihm).

Welcome back to Laker Land, people. The mad scramble to the finish line begins now. And as far as the Lamar Odom trade talks are concerned, he’s pretty much untouchable with the way he has been impressively playing right now.

Why is it so hard to write in Filipino here?

Published
by
Jayvee
on 18 February 2008
in Dailies
. 1 Comment

(Some sentences in this post are in Tagalog.)

Dear Reader,

Hirap akong magsulat sa wikang Filipino ng simple at payak lamang. I don’t mean to be a bastard to the Filipino Language but I really find it hard to write in Filipino when I am in the Internet. Let me take the defensive side. Okay, I’m really good in basic Filipino conversations - the ones that you’d typically hear from the balut vendor, the barker at the transportation terminal and the one that I usually use to converse with my Filipino-speaking peers and family. I can also write in Filipino in formal themes and essays but my problem really is writing in Filipino fluently in the Internet. I can’t simplify my Filipino text to the level wherein people would be comfortable what they are reading.

I mean I can write Filipino words but I can’t really really write fluently so people can read my lines comfortably. God knows how much I have tried to write fluently in Filipino here in the Internet. But I guess the results are not that as that desiring as I seem to turn a supposedly casual leisure writing session to a writing piece that is just about ready to be used for a technical writing class. Gauge it. You will see what I mean here:

online relationship? ano yun? hindi naman pwede yun ah. diba? sa unang tingin mo sa salitang yan na nasa pamagat ng blog post na ito eh aakalain mong isang malaking kabaliwan at katangahan ang gawaing iyan. pero nagkakamali ka. laganap ang mga mag-nobyo at nobya sa internet lamang - mapa-yahoo chat, mirc, web chat o kahit saang chatroom pa yan. maraming mga tao ang napapasailalim sa impluwensya ng online relationships at karamihan sa mga relasyon na nabubuo ay mga romantikong relasyon o ang relasyong boyfriend-girlfriend. kalimitan, ang mga nagiging online relationships eh yung mga magkakachat na malayo. yung mga tipong yung isa e nasa cebu at yung isa e nasa davao. meron din naman na yung isa e nasa maynila at yung isa eh nasa visayas region. meron ding mga bongga na nasa manila at nasa amerika yung ka-online relationship nila. ang mga relasyong ito ay hindi mo maihahalintulad sa totoong buhay pero ito ay pwede na sa mga tigang sa companionship - yung mga hindi pa nagkakaroon ng boyfriend o girlfriend sa totoong buhay.

pero paano nga ba nagsisimula ang ganitong uri ng mga relasyon? tandaan mo na ang lahat ng bagay ay may pinagsimulan. kahit ikaw. kung ikaw ay nahihiwagaan pa, ganito yan. may isang pinagtagpong lalaki at babae na maglologin sa isang chatroom. hindi pa nila alam na pinagtagpo sila para sa isang online na relasyon. may isang maglalakas-loob na magppm sa isa, magkakausap sila at pagkatapos ay hihingiin na ng isa’t isa ang mga pangunahing impormasyon tungkol sa kausap nila o ang tanyag na asl. pagkatapos ay magpaplastikan sila sa pm box. magtatanungan din ang dalawang magkausap ng kanilang mga school at syempre hindi maiiwasan ang yabangan - lalo na pag lasalista at atenista ang nagkausap. parang collision course ang dating nyan. banggaan ng ego. meron dyan na hihirit na magisip ng topic yung kanyang kausap at matagal silang maguusap. pagkatapos nyan, maghihingian na sila ng friendster, ym (kung nasa mirc ang kausap) at ng cellphone number. para syempre kahit wala na sa computer eh magkausap pa din sila. mura na lang naman na ang unlimited text. madaling natapos ang first time na paguusap ng dalawang pinagtagpo.

makatapos ang unang paguusap, magiging mas regular than usual ang oras ng paguusap ng dalawang tao. umaga, tanghali, hapon. hahabulin nila ang isa’t isa sa ym para ma-check kung online na ang isa o naka-i’m on sms. magiging patuloy din ang kanilang pakikipagplastikan sa isa’t-isa. hindi naman ito isang exaggeration. totoo naman e. kapag may nililigawan o may natitipuhan ka, ayaw mong ipakita ang masama mong ugali sa taong yun. so ayun. tuloy ang chuvahan at plastikan ng dalawa. meron dyang magyayabang na out of proportion na. meron dyang sasabihin na mahal ang dsl nila. mahal nga, kasi nasa computer shop nga naman. mahal ang connection nila. meron dyan na sasabihin na may hacienda sila para mapa-amaze yung kausap nila. meron nga naman, sila lang yung caretaker. meron dyan sasabihin single sila para lang maatract sa kanila yung kausap nila. pero sa totoo, pamilyado na pala. lahat ng pagyayabang na ito ay nagagawa dahil malayo ang magkausap. online relationship nga diba? you can be anyone in the internet dahil wala namang nakakakita sa iyo. hindi na bago yan sa internet. more…

I really can’t simplify it. That’s the most simple that it’ll ever reach for me. The text above really appears like an essay that is ready to be published in textbooks, leisure magazines and tabloids or one that is ready to be submitted as school work for a writing class. Walang hiya, para akong makata sa pinagsususulat ko na yan. I also tend to write longer in Filipino because of the length of some terms in the language; for example the comparative and superlatives in the adjectives and the fact that the Filipino language is full of vowels. Blaaaaaah. I feel like I’m doing a disservice to the language when I log in to the Internet, especially when I am writing here in this blog. I really don’t write bad Filipino grammar, it’s just that I can’t simplify what I’m saying in Filipino. I am like a bad-sounding poet with the text that I wrote above lolz. I feel like throwing up and being… emo? Ho-hum.

It’s not like I’m an English language elitist but I really have a hard time thinking in Filipino when I’m in the Internet because everything’s in English so I’m pre-conditioned to write in English. This is just a theory that I invented myself by the way. Well, yeah. So please someone help me brush up my casual Filipino language writing skills, please? Maybe you could help me. Tulungan mo ako.

- L.O.L. —-> the pen name.

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