Video: Hidilyn Diaz Carries the Philippine Flag in 2012 London Olympics Opening Parade

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz led the Philippine contingent for the 2012 London Olympic Games during the opening ceremonies parade of athletes held at the Olympic Stadium, Stratford, England.

Hidilyn Diaz was a native of Zamboanga who already competed four years ago in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was the very first Filipino weightlifter to represent the country in two-straight Olympics and based on the video, Hidilyn must be very proud to be the country's flag bearer in the 30th Olympiad.

Hidilyn was among the 11 Filipino athletes competing for the country's first Olympic gold medal. The other members of the Philippine team are swimmers Jasmine Alkhaldi and Jessie Khing Lacuña, archers Mark Javier and Rachelle Cabral, judoka Tomohiko Hoshina, boxer Mark Barriga, BMX rider Danny Caluag, long jumper Marestella Torres, long distance runner Rene Herrera and shooter Brian Rosario.

Watch the Philippine contingent to the 2012 London Olympic Games as they parade and wave our tri-color wearing Rajo Laurel Philippine costume with salakot.

Photo courtesy of @VHONGfANNEs

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WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio to Visit the Philippines on July 27 and 28

Popular World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Rey Mysterio is scheduled to visit the Philippineson Friday (July 27) and Saturday (July 28) to promote wrestling in the country.

The Mexican wrestler will appear in TV programs such as “Umagang Kay Ganda” and “It’s Showtime” on ABS-CBN, “Game Day” on Balls Channel (SkyCable ch 34), and in some programs on Studio 23 and MYX.

Mysterio gained popularity by winning a number of stellar WWE matches such as the Cruiserweight Championship and in separate fights in WWE and WCW Tag Team Championships. Standing at only 5’6″ and weighing 175 pounds, Rey has defeated 30 Superstars in the Royal Rumble despite his relatively tiny body. His signature moves include 619 and West Coast Pop.

A hero and inspiration in the WWE realm, Rey has trampled standouts CM Punk, Chris Jericho and JBL to earn the Intercontinental Title and continues to show that “it’s not the size of the man in the lucha that counts, but the size of the lucha in the man.”

Fans of the incomparable Rey Mysterio will have the chance to meet him at a meet-and-greet activity sponsored by Studio 23 at Trinoma Activity Center on July 28 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Two hundred lucky Kabarkadas will also be given VIP seats and an autograph-and-photo opportunity with Rey. All they have to do is register on www.studio23.tv.

To promote WWE’s anti-bullying campaign, Rey Mysterio will meet up with abused children under the care of Bantay Bata in a special lunch meeting to give them guidance and inspiration.

Get to watch all the highlights of Mysterio’s activities in the Philippines in a 30-minute documentary titled “Mysterio sa Pinas” produced by Studio 23 airing on August 5, 2012, 8:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Catch more WWE action on WWE Raw airing Thursdays, 8 p.m.-9 p.m., WWE NXT airing Fridays, 8 p.m.-9 p.m., and WWE Superstars on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m. only on the Home of WWE – Studio 23.

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Preparations of Team Philippines for the 2012 London Olympics Bared

The country’s slim, eleven-member delegation to the 2012 London Olympics is set to compete against the world’s best athletes in a bid to end the Philippines’ medal drought.

Tomorrow (July 24) in “Patrol ng Pilipino,” ABS-CBN reporter Gretchen Malalad will report on the heartwarming stories behind the Olympians’ preparations and sacrifices to bring honor to the country. Will one of them finally bag the first gold medal for the Philippines?

For this year’s Olympics, the country has sent its smallest delegation since 1932 with only eleven but highly competitive athletes. Amidst inadequate funding for athletes and lack of decent facilities, how have the eleven Filipino Olympians kept their focus on training to represent the country?

Meanwhile, Maan Macapagal will delve into the yellow plane policy recently implemented by the Metro Manila Development Authority that limits buses to two lanes nearest the sidewalk and bans them from using flyovers and tunnels along EDSA.

Some bus drivers condemn the memorandum for allegedly prioritizing private vehicles, but will it effectively reduce traffic glitches in the metro? Or do we need to impose stricter rules to the public and motorists?

Know the stories behind the news tomorrow (July 24) in “Patrol ng Pilipino” after “Bandila” on ABS-CBN or watch it earlier on DZMM TeleRadyo (SkyCable Channel 26), 9:15 p.m.

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WBO Says Manny Pacquiao Won Over Timothy Bradley

People's Champ and world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao won over Timothy Bradley in their World Boxing Organization welterweight bout last June 9 (June 10 in Manila) according to a five-man panel of the WBO.

The World Boxing Organization assigned a five-man panel to re-score the controversial Pacquiao-Bradley fight which gave Bradley a split-decision win over Pacquiao. After watching the Pacquiao-Bradley fight replay, all the five judges scored unanimously in favor of Manny Pacquiao and had it 118-110, 117-111, 117-111, 116-112, 115-113.

Although WBO had clearly seen Pacquiao's victory over Bradley, its president Francisco 'Paco' Valcarcel said that they can't change the fight’s official result. At any rate, the belt will have to stay with Bradley.

“We can’t change the result but we did this review for two reasons,” Valcarcel told ESPN.com. “If they want to make a rematch, we will approve the rematch and if they don’t we will order one. Also, we wanted to show (the Nevada State Athletic Commission) that they could bring in other officials from outside of Nevada who can also do a fine job judging fights. It’s good to have different officials.”

Related: Psychic Predicts Pacquiao's Loss Over Bradley, Number 7 a Curse to Pacman

Pacquiao and Bradley are scheduled for a rematch on November 10.

The five judges who re-scored the Pacquiao-Bradley fight were from New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico. Armed with the information, WBO President Paco Valcarcel will submit to the Assn. of Boxing Commissions by its July meeting a request that state commissions such as Nevada's work more diligently to bring in judges from outside their states for fights of the magnitude of a world title contest.

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WBO Assigns Five Judges to Re-score Pacquiao-Bradley Fight

The World Boxing Organization on Wednesday announced it has assigned five judges to re-score Manny Pacquiao's controversial loss by decision to Palm Springs' Timothy Bradley in an effort to convince state commissions to widen the pool of judges for major fights.

Although many at ringside for Saturday's fight gave Pacquiao between nine and 11 rounds, judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross scored the bout 115-113 (seven rounds to five) in Bradley's favor, and a third Nevada judge, Jerry Roth, had it 115-113 for Pacquiao in the WBO welterweight title contest.

(Image credit: Joe Klamar / AFP/Getty Images / June 13, 2012)

WBO President Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel said five judges, from New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico, will re-score the bout and submit their work confidentially to the WBO, with the scores to be gathered by Monday.

Valcarcel said that armed with that information, he will submit to the Assn. of Boxing Commissions by its July meeting a request that state commissions such as Nevada's work more diligently to bring in judges from outside their states for fights of the magnitude of a world title contest.

Before the Pacquiao-Bradley judges were assigned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Valcarcel said he submitted a list of 20 judges from elsewhere who could be assigned to the bout. None were chosen.

"We're asking the ABC to make recommendations how a sanctioning body like ours can work better with a state commission, to use this experience to have better scoring in the future," Valcarcel said.

Valcarcel said he is not considering stripping the WBO belt from Bradley, and will not order a mandatory rematch, because Pacquiao's contract stipulates he would get a rematch if he lost the bout. In promoting the fight, Bradley had printed up a poster and ticket hyping Bradley-Pacquiao II on Nov. 10.

"This wasn't Bradley's fault, and we're not saying there was any evidence of fraud or corruption here," Valcarcel said. "That's outside the scope of what we're doing."

He said he's also not questioning the integrity of Ford or Ross.

"There are excellent judges available internationally, and they should be considered," Valcarcel said. "We've done it here in Puerto Rico, bringing in judges from Nevada."

Source: Los Angeles Times

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Psychic Predicts Pacquiao's Loss Over Bradley, Number 7 a Curse to Pacman

Manny Pacquiao's loss over Timothy Bradley on June 9 (June 10 in Manila) at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada was rightfully predicted by Joseph Greenfield, resident psychic of Bandera based on numerology.

The psychic pointed out number 7 as a curse to Pacman and other famous and rich personalities. The said number, deemed as Pacquiao's weakness has something to do with him losing the boxing belt to Bradley.

According to the psychic, Manny Pacquiao will lose every after the 15th cycle of his career, meaning the 16th time that he step into the boxing ring, he will lose the fight. 

Manny first tasted defeat on February 9, 1996 after he lost to fellow Filipino Rustico Torrecampo in Mandaluyong. After this, he continued to win 15 succeeding fights and on the 16th time, he lost again to Thailander Medgoen Singsurat in a fight held at the latter's home country on September 17, 1999. He again went on to his 15-cycle win before losing the battle again to Erik Morales on March 19, 2005 at Las Vegas.

On June 9, 2012, Pacquiao faced Timothy Bradley only to lose his WBO Welterweight belt. That is after 15 straight wins since Erik Morales defeated him in 2005.

According to the psychic Joseph Greenfield, summing up all the numbers in the dates when Pacquiao lost inside the ring will result to number 7. He also noted that everytime Pacman went on his 16th fight after successive wins, he faced defeat. When we add 1 + 6, this gives us 7.

What an interesting analysis! To learn more about how the psychic came up with the numbers, read his article on Bandera posted June 9 (Manila time), a day before the Pacquiao-Bradley fight.

What do you think about it? Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Jessica Sanchez to Sing US National Anthem in Pacquiao-Bradley Fight

American Idol runner-up Jessica Sanchez is set to sing the US national anthem in Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley bout this Saturday ,June 9 (Sunday morning, June 10 in Manila). The news was confirmed by Top Rank Entertainment through it's spokesperson, Fred Sternburg.

The Fil-Mexican Jessica Sanchez once again will sing to the world US anthem Star-Spangled Banner. It can be remembered that Jessica sang the US national anthem during the PBS Memorial Day concert at the US Capital, Washington D.C. last May 26 (watch her performance here).

Weeks ago, Team Pacquiao had earlier expressed their invitation to Jessica to sing the Philippine national anthem on the said fight but Jessica was still busy competing for the Idol crown that time.

Filipino-American Kirby Asunto from New Jersey will be singing Lupang Hinirang instead on the said Pacquiao-Bradley World Welterweight Championship bout on MGM Grand, Las Vegas, June 9.

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Pinoy Pride XIV: Donnie 'Ahas' Nietes vs Felipe Salguero on ABS-CBN this June 3

WBO light flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes will once again showcase his venomous punches as he defends his belt against Mexico’s Felipe Salguero, in “Pinoy Pride XIV: Night of Champions” on June 2.

Nietes, who is one of five Filipino world champions alongside Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire, Brian Villoria, and Sonny Boy Jaro, seems poised to slither his way to the pound-for-pound rankings, as world famous trainer Freddie Roach once claimed that Nietes has the best hands among all the Filipino fighters he has trained next to Pacquiao.

Donnie "Ahas" Nietes

Nietes, who holds a record of 29-1-3 (16 KOs), is like most Filipino boxers who started dreaming big at a very young age. He started out as a janitor and a utility boy for the ALA Boxing Gym. One of his daily tasks included cleaning and feeding his boss Tony Aldeguer’s five pythons, thus acquiring the moniker “Ahas.”

Armed with the will and courage from his daily endeavors with the snakes, Nietes asked ALA (Antonio Lopez Aldeguer) if he could try his hand in boxing. The Negros Occidental native immediately seized the opportunity and began pushing himself to the limit during training.

Eventually, all the hard work paid off in 2007 when he trounced Pornsawan Porpramook for the vacant WBO minimumweight title.

Perhaps Nietes draws the biggest inspiration today from his nine-month-old baby girl, Dionne Nicole Nietes, as he wisely puts his money in various businesses such as a small piggery, and an agrivet business. And with the help of Tony Aldeguer, Nietes also invested in a house which his father and uncle built with their own hands.

Outside the ring, Nietes’ world does not mainly revolve around boxing, as he is also active in biking and is actually a member of the Bike Talk Friendship Club.

It seems like there is no stopping the meteoric rise of “Ahas,” together with Genesis “Azukal” Servania, and Milan “El Metodico” Melindo, as they carry the whole nation behind their backs and ascend to the top of boxing’s mountain in “Pinoy Pride XIV: Night of Champions.”

From the Resorts World Manila Newport Performing Arts Theater, the bout will be shown via satellite on ABS-CBN on June 3, Sunday 10:15am, with replays on Studio 23 on the same day at 1:30pm, and on Balls Channel on Friday, June 8 at 4:00pm.

Photo courtesy of GMAnetwork.com

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Nonito Donaire Emerged Victorious over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Successfully Defended his Title

The Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire Jr. won against Puerto Rican boxer Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. following a 12-round split decision (117-110, 117-110 for Donaire and 115-112 for Vazquez) on their February 4 fight (February 5 in the Philippines) in Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.