PINOY TRIP

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - As is his wont everytime he comes home from a victorious fight, Pacquiao went to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo) Church, arriving late for the 9 a.m. Mass. Manny Pacquiao?s arrival drew more worshipers to the church. The crowd inside the basilica reached at least 1,500 for the Mass celebrated by Fr. Jack Padua. Bernard Enrique, 52, of Pasig City, was late for the 6 a.m. Mass that he and his wife usually attend and decided to stay for the 9 a.m. Mass. ?I only found out he (Pacquiao) was coming when I saw the media. I asked around and was told he was attending Mass today," Enrique said, regretting not bringing a camera or a phone with a camera. After the Mass, Pacquiao took the lector?s stand and preached to the Mass-goers about the importance of faith. ?I only dreamed of being the (boxing) champion in the Philippines. I had many setbacks but I continued to pray," he said. ?We should be close to God. The way we seek to...

MANILA, Philippines - There is a possibility that the Supreme Court will allow the live coverage of the Maguindanao massacre case, SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said Sunday. In an interview with radio dzMM, he said: “May posibilidad… Ang inihain ng [National Union of Journalists of the Philippines] nung Friday ay magandang oportunidad para ma-review and doktrina na ibinaba 9 years ago (There is a possibility. The NUJP petition is a good opportunity for a reversal of the decision issued 9 years ago.)” Marquez, who is also Court Administrator, is referring to the SC decision in 2001 wherein it banned the television coverage of the plunder trial against former President Joseph Estrada before the Sandiganbayan. Nine of 15 magistrates voiced out concerns that a live coverage of the plunder trial may jeopardize the rights of the accused. On Friday, the NUJP formalized its petition before the SC, saying it is about time to give weight to the public’s right to information. Marquez noted tha...

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New Orleans Hornets sent Peja Stojakovic to Toronto on Saturday in exchange for guard Jarrett Jack as part of a five-player trade. New Orleans also received center David Andersen and guard Marcus Banks, while guard Jerryd Bayless, acquired by New Orleans from Portland less than a month ago, will go to Toronto. New Orleans, which missed the playoffs last season, is off to a 10-1 start with three-time All-Star Chris Paul healthy and playing well. Yet the surprisingly strong start wasn't bound to dissuade general manager Dell Demps from making moves aimed at finding the depth to keep the Hornets' point guard as fresh as possible throughout the season. Stojakovic entered the season saying he understood he could be traded because of his expiring $15.3 million contract. His odds of being shipped out only rose when he lost his starting job this season to Marco Belinelli, who was acquired in an offseason trade and is currently New Orleans' third-leading scorer...

Roy Hibbert and the Pacers are, so far, on track to earn an East playoff spot. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) Before the season, most folks divided the the Eastern Conference into two broad tiers: six playoff locks (Miami, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Chicago and Milwaukee) and nine teams slap-fighting for the bottom two playoff spots. I was secretly hoping that one of those bottom nine teams would get off to a fast start and tweak this narrative a bit. Nope. Through Friday, none of the presumed bottom nine were over .500, and seven of the nine took up the last seven spots in the conference standings. There is a school of thought that making the playoffs and losing in the first round is a good thing, that it gives young players valuable exposure to a more intense NBA atmosphere, and that it creates loyalty among fans. I’m not convinced on either of those counts, but let’s pretend for now that all of these teams (and their fans) really want to make the playoffs. Are any of them read...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- David West had 17 points, and Trevor Ariza added 16 to help the New Orleans Hornets improve to 11-1 with a 75-71 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. The Hornets have won three straight to match San Antonio for the best record in the NBA. Donte Greene had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento. The Kings have dropped nine of 10 games since opening the season 3-1. The Hornets completed a trade Saturday that sent Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless to Toronto for point guard Jarrett Jack, center David Andersen and guard Marcus Banks. The three new players are expected to join the Hornets on Monday night in Los Angeles for a game against the Clippers. Marco Belinelli scored 12 points, and Chris Paul had 14 assists for the Hornets, who shot 32 percent and had a season-low point total. Paul shot 2 of 12 and scored nine points. Luther Head had 11 points for the Kings, and Tyreke Evans was limited to nine. Kings rookie center DeMarcus Cousins had a three-p...

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Allen Iverson scored two points in his Turkish league debut for Besiktas Cola Turka in a 74-67 defeat to defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker on Sunday. Iverson missed three shots in the first quarter and was taken off with less than a minute left. He returned at the beginning of the second half, but did not score until late in the third. He then returned to the bench for the rest of the game. Besiktas trailed 40-35 at half time and rallied to tie the score 53-all going into the fourth quarter, but Fenerbahce regained control to maintain its perfect league record. It was Besiktas' second loss in a week after a 94-91 defeat to Hemofarm Stada in the European Cup on Tuesday, when Iverson scored 15 points on his debut with the team. Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. View the original article here This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.or...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The New York Knicks were sorry to leave California, though happy to get away from Blake Griffin. The Los Angeles Clippers ' talented rookie had career highs of 44 points and seven assists while pulling down 15 rebounds. But Amare Stoudemire had 39 points and 11 rebounds, Danilo Gallinari scored 17 of his career high-tying 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks completed a three-game California sweep with a 124-115 victory on Saturday night against the team with the NBA's worst record. "Athletically, I think we saw probably the best you can be - from both teams," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Griffin had some dunks that you don't see very often. But we had Amare, Danilo and Raymond (Felton), and that was a little bit too much. Everybody contributed something, and that's how it has to be." Felton had 20 points, one night after scoring a career-high 35 against the Warriors. Wilson Chandler, the first player off the ...

10:38 AM ET 11.21 | Anfernee Hardaway is caught in the middle and wants to get out. He should be completing a brilliant NBA career but bad knees robbed him of that opportunity. He sits courtside at FedEx Forum in Memphis Nov. 13, a local icon, watching former teammate Shaquille O'Neal dunk and bull his way to 14 first-half points for the Celtics against the overwhelmed Grizzlies. And he wonders, "Why couldn't I have finished my career in grace?" Hardaway wants a chance to do that. At 39, he still feels he can contribute to a winning team. He believes he has enough skills left to come off the bench for spurts and enough experience to serve as a leader. "It's not about money," he said. "I saved my money, have all the money that I want. God has blessed me with that. It's really just the love of the game." Boston Globe Anfernee Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal, Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images View the original article here This post was made ...

TORONTO (AP) -- The Boston Celtics are playing tough defense, as usual. Just not for the entire game, and it's costing them. Amir Johnson made two free throws with 2.7 seconds left, Andrea Bargnani scored 29 points and the Toronto Raptors snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Celtics with a 102-101 victory Sunday. Paul Pierce's shot bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded, giving Toronto its first victory against Boston since a 114-112 road win on Jan. 23, 2008. Boston, which lost 89-84 at home to Oklahoma City on Friday, suffered consecutive defeats for the first time this season. "We can't just show up. We've got to play some D," a frustrated Kevin Garnett said. "These teams we're playing against are very high-caliber offense teams. We know what they are. On paper they might not be whatever but as far as talent, this league has a lot of talent and you've got to respect that." Johnson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Sonny Weems scored...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Richard Hamilton scored 12 of his 27 points in overtime in the Detroit Pistons ' 115-110 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night. Wizards rookie star John Wall missed his fourth straight game because of a sprained left foot. He was on the Wizards' active list, and coach Flip Saunders said before the game that he hoped to get a few minutes out of him, but Wall ended up watching in street clothes. Charlie Villanueva added 25 points for Detroit. JaVale McGee had 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas added 19 points and a career-high 16 assists. Hamilton's fifth basket of the extra period put Detroit up 112-110 with a minute left, and two straight Wizards turnovers let the Pistons hang on for the win. Washington only scored 17 points in the first quarter, but came alive against the Pistons' backup in the second. The Wizards hit eight of their first nine shots and finished the quarter with 38 points to take a 55-52...

MIAMI (AP) -- Udonis Haslem has played with broken fingers, separated shoulders, illnesses and sprained ankles. So when he needed to be carried to the locker room with his latest injury, the Miami Heat suspected it was bad. They were right. An MRI performed Sunday on Miami's leading rebounder confirmed he tore a ligament in his left foot during the fourth quarter of a loss in Memphis on Saturday night. When Haslem went down, he immediately began pointing to the inside of his left foot, and was quickly helped into the locker room. He will see a specialist on Monday, and surgery - which could keep him out months instead of weeks - remains an option. The Heat said they expect to have more information on Monday. Haslem does not start for the Heat, but losing him for any significant amount of time would be a major blow. He's considered to be Miami's toughest player and serves as the team's co-captain with Dwyane Wade, who is also banged-up. Wade underwent an MRI as well on S...