Confidence booster

I'm sure the whole world (tennis world, that is) that Roger Federer won the ATP Madrid Masters on Sunday, beating nemesis Rafael Nadal in two straight sets. This is definitely a much-needed morale and confidence booster for the Swiss star, who lost the last five encounters to the Spaniard including the heartwrenching loss at the Australian Open (we all know he cried right?).

To add more impact on the loss, Federer defeated Nadal on the latter's homecourt so imagine the disappointed faces of thousands of spectators at the "Magic Box."

Even though I wasn't at the "Magic Box," I was also disappointed with the results. Nope, it's not because I am anti-Federer or something. It's just that I predicted Nadal to win at this ongoing contest at the ATP website - The ATP World Tour Draw Challenge Circuit. Basically, I got zero points at the final stage thus dropping my ranking at the Madrid Open tournament to 6735 out of 12877 global opponents.

Anyway, I just read the terms and conditions of the contest and found out that only entries from selected countries are eligible to win the grand prize which was a trip for two to London for the season ending Championships. Bummer, my country was not included but the terms did state that I can still take part in the site but not win anything. Now I know how Nadal must have felt after losing the match..... (lol).

Stunning win for Manny Pacquiao

I've been sneaking some Manny Pacquiao-related articles on my tennis website and as expected, it spiked up the traffic especially since he won the match in about six minutes (2 rounds). The article can be read HERE.

Good thing we didn't subscribe for the pay-per-view service which costs about a thousand pesos. It would have been a waste. I've been following the match via the live blog of Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated and was surprised when he said that it was over in just two rounds.

I immediately flipped through the cable channels to see who will broadcast this development first. It was CNN for the win in that department, followed by ANC / ABS-CBN which made the announcement via a news scroller at the bottom of the screen. Amusingly, BBC Network seemingly delayed their news about Pacquiao’s victory.

As always, GMA Network hoarded a lot of ads. I'm thinking that the kapuso network had a hard time editing the match since the match was expected to last for at least 10 rounds. However, I just had to deal with it and see how Manny won the match in such a short span of time.

Congrats Manny!

Bummer: New tennis games won't be PSP compliant

I'm eagerly anticipating the releases of two tennis games later this year, the Grand Slam Tennis by EA Sports and Virtua Tennis 2009 by Sega. However, there's a downside - both can't be played on the Playstation Portable (PSP), which is the gaming console I have now.

Basically these games can be played on the following platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and PC. I do have a PC but considering the advanced features of the games, I'd anticipate some major upgrades on the video card, RAM etc.., the list goes on. Also, I don't think its practical to buy either of the gaming consoles because last I checked - they're still expensive. However, if I do get a great deal on Nintendo Wii, I might change my mind. There's so much excitement on the Motion Plus feature wherein the remote can be used as a virtual tennis racket and you can do those forehands, lobs and smashes.

Grand Slam Tennis is slated for release in June while Virtua Tennis will be released by the middle of next month. Hmmm, maybe I should just give hints now and then that I want these as my birthday gifts... harhar.

Chuck versus The Cancellation

Another favorite series of mine is in danger of getting the boot. NBC's "Chuck" just wrapped up its second season (which I just finished watching) and rumors are circulating that the season finale could be the SERIES finale. Reality dictates that this action-comedy series lost a rather large chunk of its viewers during the second season. However, there's a ray of hope - thanks to the efforts made by the show's stars and a number of critics who sent open letters to NBC to reconsider - that is, if there was really such a consideration to cancel the series.

So first there's Kyle XY, then Prison Break (which will end next month) and "Chuck" (still unofficial though) -- gotta find new TV shows to follow in order to fill up the void.

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I was amused to see that my after almost five years, my personal blog site got an Alexa ranking of 23,408,903 as of this writing. However, my tennis site (http://www.tennisguru.net) is about to reach the one millionth rank. Lesson learned: I've got to post more here! :)

Unlikely star in an image-driven industry

It's always great to hear a human success story amidst all the tragedies and news of political unrest on TV or in the internet. That was the case with Susan Boyle, a 47-year old unemployed, unmarried church volunteer from Scotland. She shocked the world with her rendition of the song "I Dreamed A Dream" at last weekend's edition of "Britain's Got Talent." Check out the video here.

With more than 30 million hits and thousands of positive comments on the video-sharing site, it's safe to assume that Susan has the best chance to win the talent contest. Even if she won't win, she's already guaranteed stardom - with judge Simon Cowell reportedly signing her up for a lucrative record deal.

Susan is now bombarded with a lot of requests to appear in television shows. I've seen her yesterday at yesterday's episode of "Larry King Live" and she still looked the same - humble. I can still see the look of disbelief on her face. Disbelief that she's getting so much attention and admiration - something that she's admitted not to have gotten during her early years.

I think this what makes reality TV a hit. We root for someone as if we are rooting for ourselves.

Kim Clijsters' comeback is welcome news in women's tennis

I wrote about Kim Clijsters' comeback in the Tennis Guru website and I can't help but feel happy with this development. The women's tennis is "in shambles" as other tennis analysts would put it since the top ranking has been occupied by four different players for the past year, indicating that there's not much as a dominant force in the circuit right now. The Williams sisters are always the force to reckon with but their limited tennis schedule hampers their chances in holding on the top spot for a longer period.

Back to Clijsters' comeback, she said that the "hunger" is back and I think that will bring her to the higher echelons of women's tennis sooner than we think. Of course, she's done that before. She can do it again.

Good luck Kim! and welcome back!

Maybe her compatriot Justine Henin will follow suit....

Kyle XY comes to an end

After several weeks of petitions made by hardcore fans of the hit ABC Family series Kyle XY, the last episode was aired and there's still no indication if the series will be picked up by another network.

Unfortunately, the writers of the series were interviewed prior to the airing of the last episode and they simply stated what the scenarios would have been had there been another season/s and that the conclusion of the series will simply show Kyle doing global charity work of some kind and won't end up with either of the two leading ladies in the series. That's that! Watching the series finale was just something that I should do last Tuesday even though I know it will end in a cliffhanger - and there's simply a lot of unanswered questions.

I had a better time watching the latest episode of "Lost" wherein the Oceanic six are now back in the island. Good thing is, the show's guaranteed another season to make a proper ending. I read somewhere that only Jack (Matthew Fox) knows the ending among the cast. That's a tough secret to keep!