MORE THOUGHTS ON PACMAN TV RIGHTS ISSUE

Most of those involved have moved on from the most recent Pacquiao incident about TV rights.  For my part, I am certainly glad it's over as it was a huge unnecessary distraction mostly for Manny and his training but for me as well since it took a week out of selling advertising packages for the fight.  It was a stressful week to make sure the public knew the truth and was clear with Solar's position.

I am of the impression that most don't really care where the Pacman fights are televised.  The attention though I think given to the issue was mostly because of its ethical and moral implications.  Can someone really turn his back on contracts as easily as you deciding to switch cars when you want to replace the current?  Can a third party really claim they are free of any fault  just because they did not make the first move?

ABS-CBN, in my opinion was very sloppy in the way they handled the situation.  If I were going into a situation as high profile as Pacquiao's television contract agreement, I would absolutely make sure that I had a strong legal foundation to stand on.  At no time did a legal representative from Channel 2 go public because I am sure no lawyer in their right mind would want to justify and risk ridicule for defending what they did.  They ran with it based on a video and a letter that had no factual basis.  There also seemed to be a well orchestrated series of articles from one sportswriter that set the whole thing up.  But you need more than one sided articles and cowardly "unimpeachable" sources to see it through.

I also want to put into question the way Dyan Castillejo handled the situation based on Manny Pacquiao's account.  I have been a reporter for some international events including the NBA All Star Weekend and the Beijing Olympics.  The access given to us is to exclusively report on the event for our media entity.  We are specifically told that anything outside of what we're supposed to be doing would merit suspension of our privileges.  So using your access to get autographs, and making deals with athletes are out of bounds.  Ms. Castillejo used her access to broker a deal, not just report on Manny.

Manny Pacquiao has apologized.  ABS-CBN has not.  So I'm assuming the giant network does not see anything wrong with anything they did.  I am now curious to see if they will continue to cover Manny as extensively as they've done given what has transpired.  Because if the coverage suffers a significant decline, then maybe they were really just wooing our National Treasure to transfer.  

Lessons Learned

Manny Pacquiao after being asked what he learned from the experience of being in the middle of a controversy for his TV rights said "I am more intelligent now than I was yesterday".  Half joking but true in some ways, he really found out that he was not above the law and even our national treasure should adhere to basic ethical principals.

I was in the middle of the storm as my company, Solar Sports, who had the rights to Pacman's contract was surprised by his sudden announcement that he was rescinding the contract despite no valid reasons to do so.

After a few days worth of stress, lawyers, press conferences, and many phone calls, everything finally worked out and Manny honored his contract.

I, too am more intelligent after this experience.  As far as my lessons learned, I guess there were some...

Manny Pacquiao is one of the most unpredictable people in the world.  The Filipino people really are interested in his life and what he does.

There is no substitute for being right.  The passion and motivation to get the job done stems a lot from your belief in what you're doing.

You don't have to be educated or smart to be blinded by money and power, just human.  

You should always be prepared for all possibilities and cover all your bases.

Always be magnanimous and gracious in everything that you do.  

And my favorite.... "you can please some people all of the time, and all people some of the time, but you cannot please all people all of the time". 

Peace.

Valley of the Sun

I started this blog about a year ago after the New Orleans All Stars.  Many posts later, it's still going..... so it's been a year!

The Phoenix All Stars didn't have the normal extravagance compared to the others this decade.  In fact it had a toned down atmosphere.  Not as much merchandising within the city and hotels.  Transportation, food, and facilities were not as readily available.

The Rookie/Sophomore had its moments and the Slam Dunk contest on Saturday was pretty entertaining.  The All Star game actually had more than its share of serious moments where the players actually came to play rather than goof around.  I worked the game with Vitto Lazatin and although I've watched more entertaining games before, it was still a of fun doing the coverage.

The annual media pickup game was joined by Spurs player Roger Mason who obliged by having a nice conversation about his road to being an NBA player after being a Euroleague star.  Boris Diaw joined a few years back while Tim Hardaway played with us last year.  Spud Webb and BJ Armstrong were the other two from the last few years I've been involved as international media during the Allstars.

As with previous Allstar games, our broadcast position was once again right at courtside and beside a lot of the personalities who attended.  Seated right in front of us were Eva Longoria, Senator John McCain, and Spike Lee.  There were others whose names escape me but I do recognize them from various shows.  Beyonce was seated in the same row although on the other half of the sideline.

Overall, it was still very enjoyable for any basketball fan but if you've gone to the others from the last few years, you will notice that the league was more careful in this one as far as expenses were concerned.

One For the Ages

In most cases, game 7's of any series does not end up delivering in the pre game hype.  It's hard to imagine how a game with so much at stake can live up to the expectations of fans of being one of the best ever.  It happened Wednesday night.

I was more than happy when my boss postponed my trip to Phoenix for some pressing matters at work which gave me the chance to cover the 7th game as the television anchor with Norman Black as the analyst, Dominic Uy, Patricia Hizon, and Ceska Litton as the courtside reporters.  (Thanks to Ceska for the pic from the production room)  It was a first for me to cover the last game of the PBA Finals and it was "awesome".

As a commentator and a fan, I really was in "awe" watching the two teams combine talent and heart on their way to a masterpiece.  Well, sans the last possession(s) of Alaska, it was as good as it gets for the PBA.  The coaching was excellent.  The officiating was consistent.  The players were at the top of their game.  The fans were cheering in full force.  No Ginebra nor Purefoods, the two most popular teams and yet still a blockbuster with ratings and attendance that made Commissioner Barrios smile from ear to ear.

Congratulations to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters!

Defense Wins Championships

The Finals of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup is upon us and the two best teams (if you go by the eliminations record) have made it for a best of seven (7) showdown. There are a few storylines in place for the series.

First, the coaches. Tim Cone and Chot Reyes are both former National Team Coaches. Chot was under Tim in Alaska before he achieved all his success in Purefoods, Sta. Lucia, Coke and now Talk 'N Text. Both are respected and are considered two of the best in the land today. Cone has more championships and finals' appearances but it's partly because he's also coached more years. Both are also the best of friends.

Second is the style these two teams play. Alaska is very deliberate and likes to play half court offense. TNT is very fast and likes to utilize the full court in orchestrating its offense. Alaska is one of the best defensive teams in the conference while TNT is one of the best offensively. They say defense wins championships so we'll see if that holds true in this case.

In a 7 game series, adjustment will be the key. I reckon sometimes Alaska's defense will dominate and other times TNT's offense will explode. This is why the coaching will play a larger role than normal in this matchup.

Tejada Triumph

Some might remember the tragic Mother's day a couple of years ago when Eugene Tejada fell into a career ending injury at the Ynares Center in Antipolo while playing for Purefoods. Spine/Back injuries are the worst kind in sports and it was damn scary watching Eugene get carried off in a stretcher unable to move any of his body parts from the neck down.

Seeing the former PBA player walking last night during Dominic Uy's birthday party at Fiamma was one of the most encouraging sights for the new year so far. I can't imaging the amount of rehab, and hospital bills it took for him to get to the point he is at right now. I don't really know Eugene that well but I am definitely now a fan.

We are inspired mostly by great performances and incredible talent on the court. Eugene's comback is something to absolutely marvel at and admire.

The Pacman Share

Reports have come out saying that Manny Pacquiao will not fight Ricky Hatton unless he gets at least 60% of the share in revenues for the May 2 fight. After all, he is the pound for pound king! The Hatton camp has threatened to file a case about the issue claiming that Bob Arum had already verbally agreed to a 50/50 on behalf of Pacman.

It seems to me that because of the potential Great Britain PPV market, a 50/50 share is very fair. Team Pacquiao needs to look at the take home, not the share. Getting 60% or even 70% of a fight that will gross less than half of the Hatton fight will give you much less than 50% of something huge. The larger share vs take home only massages the pride, not the pocket.

Another option is to have a 60/40 share for Hatton in Great Britain, then 60/40 Pacman everywhere else. But I reckon even with the 50% share, Manny will still take home his largest payday ever. "Para sa Bayan!", but the Money doesn't hurt I guess.