Red is the color of my movie and golf dates

I love the red letter days.

There are days for work, and then there are days for going to the movies with your child and for playing golf with friends.

Red letter days come once in a red moon. But I will always look forward to that. Especially in March.

I rebounded with that kind of two days after one very stressful week after another. I kind of tell me that the experience was anatomically, functionally, perceptually and existentially refreshing. And like the wolf in the fairytale story, I huffed and puffed and I was blown away.

Yes, blown away practically by a red storm. Red for the Red Riding Hood movie. And red for Coca Cola.

It was not the most spectacular of movies. Red Riding Hood was not the kind of story I expected from the story told to me in Kindergarten. But sending it with your child makes it worth watching every strip of film. We have not done this for a while. The last movie we had together was Harry Potter 7 which was on November last year.

After Red Riding Hood came another red letter event. The following day, I played golf with friends on the invitation of the Beverage Industry Association of the Philippines (BIAP) at the Apo Golf and Country Club. The friendly tournament was a treat by Coca Cola to its Davao friends and media partners.

I had as flightmates the guys from UMBN Bong Gonzaga, Roy Geonzon and John Servillon and young protégé Billy Tapucar. Bong and Roy went on to be among the winners in the tournament. And as luck would smile for the second straight year, Bong won the raffle’s major prize—a Sony Bravia 59-inch flat tv. Billy also got his wish—an Apple ipad.

Another media friend Alan Basong of Gold Star, though a non-playing guest, won the other Sony Bravia in the raffle. Alan said his wife could not be happier as she was celebrating her birthday on that same day.

The other media friends who played were Jon Develos of Mindanao Times, SCOOP Davao President Lito delos Reyes and hotog Tommy Inigo. Also on hand were Sunstar sports ed and DSA prexy Charles Maxey and ace photog Roland Jumawan who’s Canon 5D camera fitted with 70-200mm lens made me drool.

It was also fun to see former PBA cagers swing golf clubs and sink the dimpled ball. Kenneth Duremdes, Dale Singson, Rodney Santos, Gerard Francisco, and Cesar Catli were among the former cagers under the Coca Cola franchise seen in the fairways of Apo.

BIAP President JB Baylon personally made sure everyone gets to have fun at the links and at the raffles. With two Bravias, two ipads and two itouch as major raffle prizes, this is surely one tournament where winning the raffle is more than winning the tournament itself. The food was great and the Coca Cola products overflowed. We even had to carry home some canned loot to boot.

With friends like this and a golfing day like that, who needs to win anyway?

I did not play all too well, but there is much to enjoy in golf. Like trying to tame a wicked drive all day long and trying to hit between branches after branches. Brandishing a new driver courtesy of Cho Leonor, I found out the Srixon driver is an untamed beast.

And like the wolf’s victims in Red Riding Hood, a man bitten is a man cursed.

If at all a bad day in the fairways is a curse, I’ll look forward to the next red moon.

I love the red letter days.

Manny’s one li’l bright star

MASTER BLASTER

Neil Bravo

He strolled into the red carpet sans a braggadocio’s bounce on his heel. He looked like he just emerged from the barber’s chair and sentenced to a haircut as penalty. His bangs are gone. His moustache neatly trimmed exposing his rock-solid jaw.

On a night like this, Congressman Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao lights up a hotel ballroom more intensely than the giant golden chandeliers hanging on the ceiling. The fighting legislator from Saranggani Province is no doubt, still the supernova of Philippine sports.

This was no ordinary night. It was a starry, starry night. The sports equivalent of the Oscar night.

On a night like this, one will easily get star-struck by the presence of the biggest names in sports today. The guest book lists the Younghusbands (Phil and James) and the rest of the Azkals, PBA star James Yap, world 9-ball billiards champ Django Bustamante, and world 8-ball champ Dennis Orcollo.

This was indeed no ordinary night. This was the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards Night where the best and the brightest of Philippine sports in 2010 will be formally recognized for their heroic feats.

On a night like this, you would expect Manny Pacquiao to go home with the biggest trophy of them all. Consider this: Manny won his seventh and eighth world titles last year in a span of 8 months. No other boxer in the world has captured that number of championship belts. This was a feat that cemented Manny’s greatness in sports history.

But this was no ordinary night. And Manny did not go home with a single trophy on hand.

Not that he was snubbed. Not that he was robbed.

On a night like this, it was not necessary.

Even the awards body has admitted it ran out of awards to give to Manny Pacquiao. PSA President Teddyvic Melendres of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in his introductory speech for Manny who was guest speaker of the evening, said they have run out of recognition for Manny.

Not that he needs none or deserves none.

On a night like this, Manny is bigger than the moment. Bigger than this vast ballroom and its giant chandeliers. Bigger than the trophies. And yes, he spoke big by choosing to stand ‘small.’

I have not listened to Manny speak in public but on this night, Manny displayed an eloquence as sharp as his fists. He said there is more to Philippine sports than Manny Pacquiao. There are more heroes to embrace, more reasons to support Philippine sports than there is to Manny Pacquiao.

On a night like this, Manny need not outshine the Younghusbands and the Azkals, James Yap, Django or Dennis. Not even young guys like Kiefer Ravena or Cyna Rodriguez. Manny does not have to be intoxicated with the Robert Greene’s Laws of Power no. 1 (“never outshine the master”).

On a night like this, Manny need not outshine everyone. Not even the chandeliers.

Manny has his own star to shine now. Safely secured in the galaxies, Manny’s constellation brings light to the other rising stars.

And that’s what makes Manny a supernova even if he chooses to be just one little bright star.