And the first-half winners are...

The second half of the NBA season is underway. I look back at the first half and hand down my own set of awards to the deserving players.

Most Valuable Player

Kobe Bryant – There are 81 big reasons why number 8 is number 1. Many have compared him to the great Michael Jordan and why not? They have similar numbers. They have pretty much the same built, the same shoe company, the same charisma, the same moves, the same killer instinct, and even the same swagger. In fact, Kobe has surpassed MJ in some scoring feats, notable the 81 point game that is considered the highest scoring game ever recorded. The bottom line is Kobe is single-handedly carrying the Lakers, which would make the playoffs if the season had ended now. Right now, Kobe Bryant is the best NBA player – not LeBron James nor anyone else. His all around game is brilliant and his clutch shooting is even more impressive. And like MJ, there’s no one better with the ball when the game is on the line. Kobe Bryant has patterned his game after His Airness. And so far, he’s doing a good job at it.
(Runners-up: Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash)

Rookie of the Year

Chris Paul – This is a no-brainer. At the all-star break, Chris Paul leads all rookies with averages of 15.9 points and 7.7 assists on the season.. Speaking of all-star, he should have been in Houston as an all-star as he has carried the overachieving New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets to the seventh-best record in the very tough Western Conference. The fourth overall pick out of Wake Forest, Paul is the best rookie point guard in a while. For a third time in as many months, he has been named the NBA Rookie of the Month in the Western Conference.
(Runners-up: Channing Frye, Andrew Bogut)

Coach of the Year

Avery Johnson – Although experts pick Detroit’s Flip Saunders, I’d have to say Avery Johnson deserves the award more. He has steered the much improved Dallas Mavericks to the second best record in the NBA. Since taking over midway through last season, he currently has a winning percentage of 82% (59 wins, 13 losses). The “Little General” has transformed the once run-and-gun Mavs to a very respectable defensive team. Flip Saunders, on the other hand, has led the Pistons to the NBA’s best record. But let’s not forget that the Pistons were already a great team, having been in the NBA Finals the past two years and winning it all in 2004.
(Runners-up: Flip Saunders, Mike D’Antoni)

Defensive Player of the Year

Ben Wallace – It is only fitting that the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year should come from the NBA’s best defensive team – the best team for that matter. Big Ben, a two-time winner of this award, deserves it one more time, being the anchor on defense for the league-leading Detroit Pistons. As usual, he is among the league leaders in rebounds, blocked-shots, and steals. More importantly are the intangibles and hustle that he brings into the game. His defensive plays often have a big effect on the outcome of a game, just like his two blocks against Pau Gasol in the all-star game which ignited the Eastern Conference rally to win.
(Runners-up: Bruce Bowen, Andrei Kirilenko)

Most Improved Player of the Year

Boris Diaw – The emergence of Frenchman Boris Diaw has made people forget about Joe Johnson, who was traded to the Hawks last year. It was Diaw who was one of the lesser-known names involved in that trade. And as it has turned out, he has become one of the most versatile players in the league, and a fantasy stud. He is able to play all 5 positions on the court, which he has, making it easier for the Suns to run their offense without all-star Amare Stoudemire.
(Runners-up: Mike James, Smush Parker)

NBA All-Star Weekend 2006

It was another fun NBA All-Star weekend, the greatest showcase of talent and entertainment. Here are the events for the weekend that I watched on TV together with some of my thoughts on each:

Rookie Challenge

76ers other “A.I.”, Andre Iguodala scored 24 of his game-high 30 points in the second half as the Sophomores defeated the Rookies 106-96 in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. Iguodala, the game's Most Valuable Player, was dominant as he made 13-of-17 from the field, mostly on a flurry of dunks and 3-pointers. It was like a one-man dunking exhibition. Surely enough, it was just a preview of what was in store in the Slam Dunk contest, which he would be participating in.

Shooting Stars Challenge

Team San Antonio, comprised of current Spurs all-star Tony Parker, former Spurs sharpshooter Steve Kerr and WNBA star Kendra Wecker of the Silver Stars, won the 2006 RadioShack Shooting Stars challenge. Thanks to Tony Parker, who hit the half-court shot on his first try, their team had a record-setting time of 25.1 seconds. Interestingly enough, Kobe Bryant of team Los Angeles also made the half-court shot on his first attempt, while Tracy McGrady of the host city Houston made it on his second. This made me think that, perhaps, one of these years, there’d be a half-court shoot contest similar to the current three-point shooting contest. To me, the highlight of this event was not any of the shots made on the court, but it was actually a glimpse of Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria beaming with pride as Tony hit the clinching shot.

Skills Challenge

Miami's Dwyane Wade won the 2006 PlayStation Skills Challenge champion, defeating Cleveland's LeBron James in the final round by completing the obstacle course in 26.1 seconds to James' 33.7-second time. Defending champion and my bet Steve Nash, and rookie sensation Chris Paul were eliminated in the first round, setting up the duel that would probably be a glimpse of one of the NBA’s future superstar rivalries. At 6’8”, I believe LeBron was the tallest competitor in the history of the event, and yet he moved like a true point guard as he hurdled the course. Yet, he never had a chance as D-Wade lived up to his billing as the NBA Live 06 cover boy.

Three-Point Shootout

One of my favorite NBA players, German sensation Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA’s annual Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout 2006. He made 7-of-8 shots at one point and scored a total of 18 points in the final beating Washington’s Gilbert Arenas by 2 points and 2001 champion Ray Allen of the Seattle SuperSonics, by 3. The 7-foot Nowitzki became the tallest player ever to win the event, and with his height, blond tops, and of course impeccable shooting, reminded me of a young Larry Bird. What was even interesting was Nowitzki almost did not make it through the first round. Replays would show that his last shot, a two-point ball, did not make it before the buzzer. Had it not been counted, he would have been eliminated and instead of him, his teammate Jason Terry would have moved on.

Slam Dunk Contest

The NBA’s slam dunk contest is back! To me it was the best one since the Vince Carter-Tracy McGrady-Steve Francis showdown years ago. However, I was disappointed at the results.

It should've been Andre Iguodala's second trophy ceremony of the weekend. Instead, it turned out to be a controversy as 5’9” Nate Robinson won the event after a first-ever “dunk-off” to break the tie. Robinson needed 14 attempts to complete his final dunk – performing a transfer of the ball between each leg before lobbing the ball with his left hand off the glass -- all while midair -- and then catching it for the throw down. He got 47 points for that while Iguodala, who only needed 2 tries to complete a reverse between-the-legs dunk, got 46.

It was clear to the crowd that Iguodala delivered the best dunk of the night in the first round, catching an Allen Iverson pass off the back of the glass and gliding under the backboard and rim for a reverse-slam on the other side. He then followed that up in the final round with another perfect 50 on a lob off the glass featuring a behind-the-back, hand-to-hand transfer slam.

I would still have to agree that Nate Robinson was also spectacular. His most impressive dunk came in the final round. Walking across the court, he handed Spud Webb his old Atlanta jersey No. 4. Robinson, who also wears the same number for the Knicks, caught a bounce pass from the 1986 slam-dunk champ and jumped over all 5 feet, 7 inches of him for a spectacular jackknife slam.

However, I believe Iguodala deserved to win. That crazy behind the backboard dunk alone was the single most creative dunk I’ve ever seen. As for Robinson’s, jumping over a guy was nothing new. In fact, even Vince Carter dunked over a 7’2” guy in a game in the 2000 Olympics.

Overall, I believe the judges – a panel of Houston legends -- Kenny Smith, Elvin Hayes, Rudy Tomjanovich, Moses Malone and Clyde Drexler, are to be blamed. Except for Malone, all of them seemed tentative and had to glance at each other before they revealed their scores.

They clearly lowballed Iguodala with a 44 on his final attempt of the final round to force the first tiebreaker in the competition's history.

In the end, even one of the judges, Elvin Hayes, who awarded 10 points on Robinson’s final dunk, didn't feel too good the results. He felt that the wrong guy won. "I think Andre's (last dunk) was much more difficult and had a lot of power and energy in it….I just feel Andre won but it is all in the tally of the points."

• It is interesting to note that it was 20 years since the only other 5-footer, Spud Webb, won the event. Also, for the second consecutive year, the jersey of an Atlanta Hawk 1980s Slam Dunk champ was worn on the court and was part of the winning dunks. Last year it was Dominique Wilkins' no. 21 that was worn by then winner Josh Smith.

All Star Game

The 2006 NBA All-Star Game came down to an MVP showdown between LeBron James and Tracy McGrady, both high school-to-NBA superstars. In the end, it was a matter of which team won the game. The Eastern Conference won, 122-120, and expectedly James, at 21 years old, became the youngest All-Star MVP ever. He scored 29 points, fueled a second-half comeback and disrupted McGrady's potential tying jumper as the Eastern Conference rallied for a victory over the Western Conference in the 55th annual midseason showcase.
Unlike many of the past All-Star games, this one was relatively lifeless. For the first time that I could remember, defense was actually played. No doubt that it was because of the four Detroit Pistons who were fielded altogether by East coach (and Detroit coach) with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

The Western Conference All-Stars held a 21-point lead at one point during the game, but let that lead slipped away late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter. LeBron James started it, but the Pistons quartet eventually broke it down. They started pushing the ball more and Ben Wallace's two blocks on Pau Gasol hyped up his entire team. No wonder why the Pistons are currently the best team in the NBA. The East eventually tied the game at 97 with almost a quarter left in the game.

There were some flashes of individual brilliance, led by McGrady and James, the superstar swingman of the Cleveland Cavaliers. McGrady, in front of the hometown crowd, scored 36 points, as his teammates kept feeding him the ball. He linked up with several Kobe Bryant lob passes that translated into spectacular dunks.

And yet, compared to the previous all-star games, this one had lesser highlights. Two missed dunks by Vince Carter and Rasheed Wallace’s left-handed three pointer that missed badly typified the kind of show the NBA superstars had put up. In fact, my favorite highlight was Shaquille O’neal at the free-throw line. He threw his second free throw attempt off the backboard and slammed it home. However, it was a lane violation.

The 2006 midseason classic wasn’t as entertaining, nevertheless it was a good hard fought game. And in that game of superstars, the youngest one seemingly rose to the occasion. He would definitely become the King of the NBA for many years to come.

A Sure Cause

It is said that everything we do in college is in preparation for the real world. With that point in mind, campus politics should be no exception. Exercising our rights of suffrage by participating in campus elections prepares us to vote for the right candidates in our country’s actual elections. The student government is an excellent training ground for students who aspire to become future leaders of our country.

Every last Wednesday of February, the Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) elections are held. The 2006 edition was held two days ago and it offered the chance for students to elect their leaders for the next school year. Unfortunately, like the previous years, the voter turnout seemed low, although I couldn’t confirm this personal observation yet.

Nevertheless, the elections ran smoothly that day. There were a couple of power interruptions during the counting that night but it really wasn’t a big deal. (It’s not like there’d be some ballot box-switching or something!). In fact, the results were ready around midnight.

This year, there were 3 political parties which include the well-established Concerted Action for the Upliftment of Students’ Endeavors (CAUSE) and Students’ Union for Reforms (SURE) parties, both of which have become a byword of student politics in Silliman. The third party is the NSTP (I couldn’t even recall what the acronym stands for). The last time there was a third party in the SG elections was in 1999, the time I ran for (and luckily won as) High School Representative. They were called the CURE party, obviously a combination of the two leading parties. In fact, that was their slogan, as they claim to be the “cure” to all the political bickering between CAUSE and SURE, which had already extended at that time for about a decade and a half. Unfortunately, the CURE party weren’t able to complete all the necessary requirements, and for this reason, even if they were already posting their campaign materials, they were disqualified by the COMELEC.

I have been a member of the CAUSE party for almost 8 years now. I have seen almost everything good and bad in student politics. I have seen how potential leaders climb the political ladder on their way to the highest position in the student government and how they overcome their shyness to become great leaders.

On the other hand, there are also some dark sides. These range not only from mere black propaganda and misinformation, but even up to frat wars. From the stories I’ve heard, years ago, fraternities take sides and their differences in party affiliations cause trouble between these feuding frats. Fortunately, over the past years, political tension has lessened somewhat. Gone were the frat wars and confrontations. Perhaps the only bad thing that continues to exist the last couple of years is black propaganda (although I’m glad to share that as far as I know, there is zero existence of such this year!). The sources of these controversies are not known. The mudslinging may come from the party itself, or from a group of loyalists in support of one party. It is even very possible that an outsider (not from CAUSE or SURE) could start all the character-destroying propaganda that could cause one party to blame the other. Then the “political war” heats up. Issues and stories – some true, some made-up, start surfacing. Political figures are targets of black propaganda, aiming to ruin their reputations.

Over the years, both parties have experienced ups and downs that make politics dynamic. The good thing is that members of the two parties remain friends (I have a lot of friends from the SURE party). It is probably only during the election period, when the election fever heats up, that loyalty to the party somewhat takes over. The friendship is not forgotten, it is always there. After the elections, when winning candidates from both parties take their places in the student government, a new working relationship is created. After all, at this time, one cannot say that he or she represents the CAUSE party or the SURE party, but he or she now represents the SUSG.

Now back to the election results. After four consecutive years of CAUSE presidencies, the streak was broken as the SURE party bet, Razcel Salvarita, won. Although I am a loyal supporter of the CAUSE party, I do not have any problems with the results. In fact, I believe all who ran as standard-bearers were very much qualified to handle the positions they vied for. The fact that they voluntarily offered their services is admirable, knowing that there is no monetary compensation for the work they would be doing (Believe me, I had been a part of the SG for several years, and honestly, it’s really a tough task). All the parties had good intentions, and that is to serve the student populace.

Knowing his background and capabilities, I’m sure Razcel would be a good student-servant. Besides, one person does not make up the SUSG. There is the entire set of other elected and appointed officers to work with him. Ultimately, the success of the administration would lie on how well these officers could work together and implement their plans.

For vice-president, Lycar Flores of the CAUSE party was victorious. I know her personally and she is really dedicated and committed to serving the students. Hopefully the Razcel and Lycar partnership at the helm of the student government would do good. As for the college representatives to the SUSG Assembly, I’m quite certain that as always, it will be a good mix of personalities coming from both parties. I hope they would really be there to “represent” their constituents and be their voice in this student legislative body.

In the end, my support for the SUSG perhaps would overshadow my support for one party. The responsibility you have as a student leader is such a privilege and at the same time a challenging undertaking. I hope that more students would realize that there is genuine satisfaction when you serve with sincerity. True leaders are not after the recognition or awards, but are there for the commitment to serve.

Burnout

Life's a marathon, not a race...

Finally, summer’s coming soon! I can’t wait for my favorite time of the year. Just imagining what I could do makes me smile. Vacations, the beach, road trips, adventures, golf – these are just some of the things I’m gonna make sure I do this summer. I guess I better get my summer gear and sun block ready.

However, weeks before summer, I’m already experiencing a different kind of burn. Nope, this has nothing to do with the sun nor my skin. What I’m talking about is me currently experiencing burnout. To be more specific, as defined, I’m currently suffering from psychological exhaustion and diminished efficiency resulting from overwork or prolonged exposure to stress.

So much for one of my new year’s resolution of managing my time better. Right now I’m barely hanging on. I can’t describe how exhausted I am. I have a bad case of cough and colds, but never took any rest. When I discuss something in front of my class, I run out of breathe due to severe nasal congestion. At times I feel like passing out, and sometimes I wish I would, so that I could rest and will have a reason to be absent.

Let me enumerate what parts of my body hurt: Nose, sinuses, throat, stomach, head, knees, back, and sometimes chest. I should probably see a doctor, right? Weird thing is, I don’t have fever or anything, although I get the occasional chills at night.

Well, actually, my current health is just part of my burnout. A bigger part of it is my responsibilities. First, being a teacher, I need to submit my students’ midterm grades as soon as possible. They’re actually ready, but there are still a few students who had submitted some requirements just recently. Aside from this, I have loads of exams to check, papers to read, and programming assignments to evaluate. Then I still have to prepare for my class tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and so on. You get the idea.

Next is law school. I am way behind in our readings. I was so happy yesterday that the assigned reading was just one chapter. So I went to the library to study, only to find out that the chapter was an inch thick! Once I started reading, my head ached so much that I couldn’t even open my eyes without feeling any twitches. I had to go home and sleep. I slept all afternoon and missed classes.

Finally, let’s talk about extracurricular commitments. I had to work on the 2006 Grand Law Debate poster layout and TV advertisement. I had to stay up all night last Friday to finish it. And although it was haphazardly done, I think it was still presentable enough. I exerted a lot of effort on it, only to find out that the print ad must be in black and white. Back to the drawing board I guess.

The SG Elections is coming up and as a student, I am still actively supporting a certain political party. Like some of my responsibilities when I was still an undergrad before, I was in charge of information and media. That involves flyers, posters, streamers, IDs, and lots of other stuff. I had to take pictures of the candidates, encode their CVs, and design other election paraphernalia.

Yesterday alone, after sleeping the whole afternoon and waking up late last night, I received more than 10 text messages concerning some things I had to do: “Klase na bai…”, “Can you bring your camera for a picture-taking session tonight?”, “Where is my certificate of candidacy?”. “Are you done with the streamer lay-out?”, “Can we attach a pop-up banner in your website?”, “Sir, what’s the coverage of our exam tomorrow?”, “Can you look for a good printer and have our old one fixed?”, “Is 300K pixels good enough?”, “Just start working on the PHP side of the project”, “Can I borrow (something) for (someone)?”, “Please bring the envelope containing the files…”, “(Someone) couldn’t find the CD, kindly burn another one for me.”, etc. And these do not include the e-mails and personal messages I get, complaining or suggesting something for my website. Sometimes I just prefer to turn off my phone and not check my e-mail. If it was possible, I would like to sleep for like a week or so.

These are just some of the pressures I feel right now. Sooner or later I feel like I’d probably break down. And this is not just a one-time thing. This is actually constant. My weekend is already filled with commitments, and this is after I had already turned down something which could have made me earn a couple of hundred dollars or so. Next week would be the same, and it will probably get worse.

So, one may ask why I was still able to write this. Well, this is just a spontaneous thing. I’m actually checking papers and working on some bugs in my website. I just took a 10 minute break to release some of the pressure by just typing whatever was on my mind.

That and the thought that summer’s coming fast. Probably then I could take a well-deserved break.