The #WhyNotUs Index: The MLB 2014 Playoff Teams

Why not us? | Credit: www.boston.com

Now that Ateneo’s basketball season is over, I turn to the MLB playoffs for entertainment. No matter how much boring baseball is for most people, it actually climaxes well during the playoffs. Anything can happen and any team can come back as baseball is not time-dependent. Of all the major sports in the United States, baseball is actually the only sport that finds the right balance of regular season, postseason and even all-star games. Yup, I am not kidding despite of the 162 game count. OK, I might be a bit biased here but consider these:

NBA: Does the regular season really matter? Half of the teams reach the playoffs anyway!
 

Handing out the Letter Grades: 2014 New TV Shows Edition

Credit: Fox

I’m back.

Such a shame that I was not able to blog anything after all the blog-worthy news in the past months. These are what happened since the last time I blogged:
1)    FIFA World Cup. Yes, I followed it and even rooted for a team. Heck, I even lost valuable sleep watching those matches. If that wasn’t enough, I won our bracket. Lastly, the champions were a #WhyNotUs team
2)    FIBA World Cup. Oh those memorable Gilas games. All of their games (except the Greece game) were reaction-worthy
3)    LeBron returning to Cleveland. ‘Nuff said.
4)    Mad Men. Because I am a fantard of that show. And with good reason.
5)    San Antonio defeating Miami in the NBA Finals. #WhyNotUs Alert
6)    Breaking Bad dominated the Emmy’s
7)    The Viper and the Mountain duel happened. And broke the hearts of millions of people.

How I Defend the TV Show I Stuck With Through Thick and Thin (HIDTTVSISWTTAT)

Trying to find sense on a supposedly nonsensical theme of what several pundits have claimed to be a nonsensical show

Destiny | Credit: CBS

“Funny how sometimes you just find things.” – Tracy McConnell

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!

November 2008

My friend finally convinced me to watch ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ It took me a long while to consider watching HIMYM because the title was not enticing. I was already watching TV shows with better titles like Lost, Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs, Prison Break, Gossip Girl and House so it was difficult to consider watching a new one. But since my friend had a good track record in suggesting TV shows, I gave her my flash drive so she could copy over Seasons 1 and 2 on it.

It took me some time to watch it, but I eventually gave it a try one night. The pilot episode featured the story about a romantic guy named Ted Mosby who suddenly got pressured to find girl of his dreams (a.k.a. “The One”) because his bestfriend Marshall just got engaged. The pilot episode was refreshingly funny because the jokes were natural and witty. I could totally relate to their humor because their target market would be my generation. I also found Ted’s dating moves funny because it felt like the do’s and don’ts of dating (or Dating 101). It was just ironic that I laughed at it hard then because I had a girlfriend. But years after that (when I became single again) when I tried to date other women, I found myself falling into the same Ted Mosby bloopers.

Why Not Us?

YES!!! | Credit: spin.ph

When Ateneo was about to end its bonfire last 2012, host Gretchen Ho implored the crowd to attend the upcoming women’s volleyball games. The Lady Eagles were optimistic that it could be the year that they are going to finally win it all as they have an experience of reaching the UAAP Finals under their belt. Early that year, they even defeated the defending champion La Salle Lady Spikers for one game in the Finals. Furthermore, star rookie Alyssa Valdez has one year’s worth of experience in the bag.

It was also the last year of Ateneo’s Fab Five (Fille Cainglet, Dzi Gervacio, Jem Ferrer, Gretchen Ho and Carol Nacachi) – the batch that started Ateneo’s prominence in the women’s volleyball scene. It was about time for our women’s volleyball team to finally get over the hump.

Of Love and Technology

Credit: Her

 “Falling in love is a crazy thing to do. It’s kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity.”

Days after the Academy Awards concluded, I watched the movie “Her.” A lot of people have been raving about it and I felt that it was the kind of movie that would fit perfectly for me. So, I thought it was about time I watch it. OK, I am lying. My buddy Ferdie told me he recently watched it with his wife and was saying it was a philosophical mindfuck. To prevent him from further spoiling the rest of the movie to me (as what most friends would do), I decided to avoid further frustrations and watched it instead. OK, just kidding, Ferdie. The philosophical mindfuck with the addition of knowing that Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara and Amy Adams were in it was just too good a thing to resist.

I never regretted the decision to watch it.

Heart Strong

Heart Strong | Credit: ABS-CBNNews.com

It was a brief moment of silence. Ateneo Lady Eagles’ star Alyssa Valdez was down on the floor in pain. She was covering her face and was finding it hard to move an inch. The NU Lady Bulldogs were just able to score and add a point to their lead on that tight match. Both teams were tied with one set each. The Ateneo Lady Eagles need to win that match to force a win-or-go-home scenario with NU.

I can still remember that scene. Alyssa was barely moving, while the rest of her teammates drew closer to her. They were trying their best to rally her.

For a moment then, it seemed that Ateneo was in a similar scenario - another Final Four exit. Sure, the Lady Eagles were able to score the first set – something they had a tough time accomplishing against this juggernaut NU squad who outscored them 6-1 on set wins in their elimination round meet-ups. After reaching the Finals for the past two years, it was actually expected that the Ateneo Lady Eagles would miss it this year.

8 Random Thoughts: The Chinese New Year-Super Bowl Edition

Have a prosperous New Year. | Credit: Wolf of Wall Street

Happy Chinese New Year, folks! Let us start this Chinese Lunar Calendar Year with a blast by discussing about sports and pop culture (as always). I know this is mostly about sports with the Super Bowl around the corner, but still. I have my “Wolf of Wall Street” review at the last part after all! (It took me two full years to do a movie review again and I am putting it as a subsection of a blog post. Shame on me.)

Random Thought # 1: Another year, another failure. The New England Patriots are eliminated in heartbreaking fashion in another playoff game. Any thoughts?

Yes, this hurts. | Credit: NESN

I know that I should not be whining because I just experienced a championship very recently. And it also came from a Boston team so the New England Patriots fans should not expect a lot of sympathy either. Regardless, it is always easier said than done: the loss stings especially that it came against Peyton Manning’s team. I know the Broncos are not La Salle, Giants, Jets or Yankees level to me, but rivalry is rivalry.