Inside the game

(Because a lot of you bloggers will not be able to get a copy of the limited edition Sports Page, the yearend publication of the Philippine Sportswriters Association, I decided to post some of the articles featured in that magazine. It took a little cajoling plus a promise of a few bottles of beers when arm-twisting failed before Gerry Ramos, who collates the articles before handing them over to the editor who closes the magazine, furnished me with the hard copies of the articles.

 It took cellphone airtime and a little bit more charm to convince those writers to have their articles posted on this blog. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this because the Sports Page usually offers these writers a chance to flex their creative muscles without the constraints of tight editorial newspaper space to restrain them.

 To those who hope to become sportswriters in the future, here’s a look at what sportswriting should be.)

By Nick Giongco
Bulletin
THERE must be something right in the way chairman William ‘Butch’ Ramirez conducts his business at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) that Malacanang threw back his resignation papers and assigned him to lead the country’s quest to win an Olympic gold medal.

            Having been relegated to a lame duck in the last couple of months of 2006 after announcing that he would step down following the Doha Asian Games, Ramirez even had booked a flight to the US to be with his grandkids confident he would no longer be told to stay.

            But fate had a different script.

            A few days after Team Philippines returned with a medal tally of 4 (gold)-6 (silver)-9 (bronze) in Qatar, Ramirez accompanied the medallists for a courtesy call with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Palace where he was told to call the shots for the PSC at least up to the 2008 Beijing Games.

            Like a good soldier, Ramirez, 56, did not protest the Commander-in-Chief’s order even if it would meant that he will have a lot of explaining to do with his loved ones.

            While the conversation with the President was short, the message relayed had a tremendous impact.

            “Let’s go to work,” Ramirez said a few hours after being given a fresh mandate.

            Work simply meant that Ramirez will have to sacrifice more as the task at hand is not as stress-free as retaining the overall crown when Thailand hosts the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

            Go for gold, Ramirez was told.

            But saying it is definitely much easier than achieving something like it.

            Ramirez had to endure brickbats for 12 months from critics most of whom hid under the veil of anonymity and this was one reason why he had to issue a statement regarding his resignation.

            “I have been asked many times by my family that what I am doing is not worth it,” said Ramirez, who assumed the post of chairman in July 2005 after serving on an interim basis the previous six months.

            Before his position was upgraded, Ramirez had been serving as commissioner beginning in 2000.           

 ”One day, when I leave the PSC, I think I will be able to do well in other areas because of my experience here. While I was here (at the PSC), I was able to learn how to adapt to situations because I found out that the territory is treacherous.”

            Even before he assumed the chairmanship, there were already those who drooled over the prospects of seeing him fall from grace, including the acerbic-tongued athletics chief Go Teng Kok, who Ramirez later revealed could be tamed, and a few within the confines of the PSC who can’t wait for their boss to step on a banana peel.

            But the most critical phase of Ramirez’s chairmanship came in the second half of 2006 when it was reported in a few papers of his alleged usage of the rental fee gained from Brent School International amounting to millions of pesos.

            As it turned out, it was all a hoax as he was not charged in the Ombudsman or in any other court.

            “I haven’t received any document charging me with what has been reported,” said Ramirez, noting that despite the numerous heartaches, his “conscience is clear and he does not harbor hard feelings” toward his critics.

            Ramirez took everything on the chin and while he wobbled and even fell from a few solid shots, he mustered enough energy and strength to regain his bearings, parry the punches and deliver a knockout blow.

            “Now that I have been given a fresh mandate, I am looking forward to the objective of winning that first Olympic gold,” said Ramirez.

            With First Gentleman Mike Arroyo lending a hand just like when he staged a pledging session for the country’s preparations for the 2005 SEA Games, Ramirez is upbeat about the chances of realizing that dream.

            “We have to come up with a strategy and of course funding. It is not impossible. It can be done.”

            Providing ample backup in this drive is the full cooperation of another key ingredient in the mix, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

  ”With Butch (Ramirez), we won’t have to break him in,” said POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr. in reaction to the retention of Ramirez as chairman after it was floated that a replacement was on his way.

  Cojuangco said the partnership between the POC and the PSC is going to be vital since the two entities have been at loggerheads many times in the past even over trivial pursuits.

  ”I have been told that for the first time, the PSC and the POC have been working hand in hand,” said Cojuangco. “Now, it’s different. The PSC and the POC are coordinating with each other that the POC knows what the PSC’s plans are and vice-versa.”

  As for Ramirez, he hopes that he be given the chance to prove his true worth.