Nike drops Pacquaio after he made anti-gay remarks

Manny Pacquiao

NO AMOUNT of bobbing and weaving by Manny Pacquiao could avoid the barbs hurled at him for saying that gays are worst than "worse than animals."

Even though he apologized by social media, Nike, one of his major sponsors withdrew their support for Pacquiao.

“We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent,” a Nike statement said. “Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community… we no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao.”

The popular pugilist, who is running for the Philippine Senate, made his controversial remarks on Monday when he was asked by a Philippine TV network about his views on same-sex marriage.

“Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?”

Animals, he said, were better because they recognize gender differences, and “if you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals.”

Reaction was swift from Filipino celebrities asking people not to vote for him.

Singer Aiza Seguerra, a former child actress back in the 1980s blasted Pacquiao on Instagram: “You might’ve done our country proud but with your statement, you just showed the whole country why we shouldn’t vote for you.”

“And yes, I think you are an ignorant, bigoted hypocrite,” concluded Seguerra.

A born-again Christian, Pacquiao initially defended his comments but later issued an apology.

“I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,” he wrote. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt. I still stand on my belief that I’m against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I’m not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I’m praying for you.”

UPDATE: (Feb. 18, 2016) After Nike dropped Pacquiao, the fighter seems to have doubled down on his original statements: “I am not condemning the LGBT,” Pacquiao said. “What I am condemning is the act. I’m happier because I’m telling the truth ... It’s worse if we will hide the truth. I’m happier that a lot of people were alarmed by the truth.” 

Currently a congressman, Pacquiao is running for a Senate seat where he is considered one of the frontrunnners because of his immense popularity.

Pacquiao has said he would retire after meeting Timothy Bradley on April 9 in Las Vegas in what will be his last fight.

For more news about Asian/American &Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Day breaks through; he's the No. 1 golfer in the world

Australia's Jason Day celebrates with his son Dash.

JASON DAY is the world's undisputed No. 1 golfer ... this week.

The Australian Filipno achieved his dream of the becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world by convincingly beating the competition at the BMW Championship at Lake Forest, Ill.

“I just always had a vision of me standing on top of the earth when I was a kid and knowing that right now, there’s no one on this planet that’s better than me,” Day told reporters. “That out of all of the golfers that are in the world playing right now, that I’m the best.”

His 2-under, final-round 69 and 22-under total was good for a six-shot victory over rookie Daniel Berger. Scott Piercy finished third, seven strokes back. 

Day has been on an incredible run since narrowly missing at the British Open. The win was Day’s fifth on tour this season and his second in the FedEx Cup playoffs. In addition to leap-frogging Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy to claim the top spot in the world ranking, it made him the front-runner in the 30-man field heading to East Lake in Atlanta next weekend for the series finale. 

RELATED: Day grew up poor, in a single-parent household.

Day has been on an incredible run since narrowly missing at the British Open. In his six starts since, he has won four times — the Canadian Open, the PGA Championship for his first major and the two FedEx Cup events — and played at a sizzling 101-under par clip. 

This summer, the No. 1 ranking has been bouncing around between the Big Three, Dy, Spieth and McIlroy.

Despite his incredible summer, a lot of golf writers aren't willing to dub him as Golfer of the Year. They point out that he one only one major while Spieth has won two.

"Day's run is something I'd never thought I'd see: he's playing like Tiger did for spells in his prime. Except that Tiger did it about a half-dozen times over the course of a decade<" says Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated.  "It's impressive, and he's shown more golf skill than I ever knew he had. 

"If you are a Tour player, you might very well vote for him as player of the year. If you're a fan – and most of us are fans – it has to be Spieth. Majors are majors for a reason."

We'll see.

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Jason Day's day as the No. 1 golfer will have to wait

Jason Day couldn't recover from his over-par first round at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

JASON DAY'S bid for the world's No. 1 ranking in golf ran into the rough at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston over the Labor Day weekend.

"There's no excuse for poor playing," said Day. "I just wish I had a little bit more energy."

If Day, a Filipino/Australian golfer, had won at Deutsche Bank, he would have been named golf's top ranking in the world. Apparently, the fatigued 27-year-old hit the wall at TPC Boston and finished in a tie for 12th, nine strokes behind winner Rickie Fowler.

Day still tops the FedExCup standings after winning the opening Barclays tournament but for now, he will remain at No. 3 behind America's Jordan Spieth and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

The golf world's top spot is clearly between the top three, unlike during Tiger Wood's reign when he ruled the golf world for 281 consecutive weeks. Most likely the Big Three will be trading the crown between themselves for the foreseeable future.

Day was riding a streak leading up to the Deutsche Bank Championship, piling up wins at the Canadian Open, PGA Championship and The Barclays.

But he shuddered to a halt with a third-round 73 at TPC Boston and said he was "cooked" after signing off with a 69 on Monday.

Day was named to the International Team vs. the American Team for golf's biennial Presidents' Cup clash that will be held October 9-11 at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon City, South Korea.

Playing for the United States squad are the current No. 1 Jordan Spieth and include Bubba Watson, Jimmy Walker, Zach Johnson, Jim Furyk, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar and Chris Kirk.

They will be challenged by the International Team, which besides Day, includes fellow Australians Adam Scott and Marc Leishman , South Africans Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Charl Scwhartzel, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and debutants Anirban Lahiri (India), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) and Danny Lee (New Zealand), who pipped Jones for an automatic spot.

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Jason Day, on the verge of becoming the world's top golfer; remembers his childhood and mother's sacrifices

Reuters/Photo by Thomas J. Russo

After winning the PGA Championship, Jason Jay, carrying his son Dash, couldn't contain his emotions.

A Filipino/Australian is in the running to become the best golfer in the world --BEST ... IN THE WORLD!

Of course, in the world of golf, being the "best" is ephemeral.  

Four weeks ago, Jordan Spieth was the best golfer in the world.

Next month, it could be Rory McIlroy.

But, by this weekend, it could be Jason Day, an Aussie, whose mother is a Filipina, who might be able to claim that title. 

All three players will be competing in the Deutsche Bank Championship, which begins Friday (Sept. 4) and concludes Monday. (Sept. 7). If Day conquers the Boston course and wins; and McIlroy and Spieth each finish lower than second place, Day would become the 19th player since the world ranking's inception in 1986 to ascend to that honor.
"I never thought I'd have the opportunity, mathematically, to get to No. 1," Day said after last Sunday's win. "It's been a goal of mine. Right now, I just can't focus on that. ... The only way I can control it is through playing good golf."

Like Spieth, Day owns four PGA Tour victories this season. Day has come on like gangbusters by winning three of his past four tournament starts, including the recent PGA Championship for his first career major title. After winning, the emotion-filled Day took time to reflect on his journey and his mother, Adenil Grapilon, known as Dening, who hails from Carigara, Leyte. He scooped up his son Dash and tears filled his eyes.

“I’ve changed so much from where I was and what I saw as a kid to where I am now,” said Day. “I mean, it’s just an amazing feeling, an amazing story to really be able to tell people, to give them insight on what I felt and the emotions that I’ve gone through growing up as a kid in Australia and losing my dad very young. I have no idea where I would be, what I would be doing, probably wouldn’t be doing much of anything. And I wouldn’t be challenging myself and trying to better myself if I didn’t have the people that I have in my life today.

“That’s why a lot of emotion came out on 18. That’s why a lot of emotion came out for me. Just knowing that my mum took a second mortgage out on the house, borrowed money from my aunt and uncle, just to get me away from where I was to go to school, seven hours drive.

“I remember growing up, we were poor. I remember watching her cut the lawn with a knife because we couldn’t afford to fix the lawn mower. I remember not having a hot water tank, so we had to use a kettle for hot showers. So, you know, we would put the kettle on and go have a shower, and then my mum would come bring three or four kettles in, just to heat them up. And it would take five, 10 minutes for every kettle to heat up.

“So just to be able to sit in front of you guys today and think about those stories, it gets me emotional knowing that I’m the PGA champion now and it feels good.”

NewsCorp Australia

Dening Day is proud of her son's accomplishments.

Has Lincecum pitched for the last time?

Tim Lincecum's slight frame and his skill on the mound earlier in his career, earned him the
 nickname, "The Freak."

HAS TIM LINCECUM thrown his last pitch in professional baseball?

UPDATE: Today, Sept. 3, the Giants announced that Lincecum is done for the season.

In an exclusive story, the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Filipino/American pitcher has continued difficulty in recovering from a hip injury that has had on the San Francisco Giants' disabled list after being struck on the arm by a line drive in a June 27 game against the Colorado Rockies. 

"The bad days are outshining the good ones," Lincecum admitted to a reporter.

The highly popular pitcher reached the zenith of his career in after winning consecutive Cy Young Awards for best pitcher of the year in 2008-2009 and led the Giants to the World Series championship in 2010.

RELATED: Lincecum interviews Bruce Lee

In 2011, his pitching prowess declined rapidly and was never able to recapture his winning form.

Even if he was to have surgery during the off-season, it is doubtful the Giants would resign him since this is the last season of his current contract and he becomes a free agent. Before his current injury, he was the fifth starter in a 5-man rotation and that position was already shaky.

His inconsistency and inability to control his fastball made his starting position in doubt. There was talk among the coaches and fans that he might be moved to the bullpen, a position he was in last year during the post-season. Manager Bruce Bochy didn't have enough confidence in him to put him in, even in relief. It was most telling that in a 18-inning game with the Washington Nationals during the 2014 postseason, the Giants had to use all its pitchers but Lincecum remained on the bench. (Editor: Earlier versions had the wrong opponent vs. the Giants.)

Born and raised in Seattle, Lincecum's mother is a Filipina/American raised in Hawaii. He is the only Filipino/American baseball player currently on a major league baseball team.

While the story hints strongly that Lincecum's career may be over, we hope that he he regains the unique form that made him the game's most dominant pitcher in 2008 to 2010 ... even (gasp) if it is not in a Giants uniform.

Click here for the complete story.